Emergency call takers have urged people in Worcestershire to think before calling the police.

West Mercia Police has been experiencing an extremely high level of calls to 999 and its 101 non-emergency number during the recent flooding, caused by Storm Dennis.

By the middle of this week West Mercia Police had recorded more than 1,600 emergency 999 calls and more than 5,000 101 calls.

Unfortunately some calls are not worthy of the emergency service's time.

One caller called to ask if the police would provide waterproof gear for wading through flood water.

While others have enquired about road closures and water levels.

A spokesman said: "We really want to highlight to our communities that 101 should only be used to report non-emergency crime, and during particularly busy periods the best way to report crime to us is online: https://www.westmercia.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

"Our online forms are monitored all day and the form submissions will be prioritised in exactly the same way as 101 calls are. "

For information on road closures the public should check their local authority’s website, local news or social media.