CALL handlers have been praised by Northumbria Police after answering more than 1,200 calls over one of the busiest periods of the year.

Figures show that between 7pm on New Year’s Eve and 7am on New Year’s Day, Northumbria Police received 834 emergency 999 calls and 388 101 calls – a total of 1,222.

Despite it being a busy night, all 999 calls were answered within four seconds – six seconds quicker than the police-wide target.

The force also thanked the North-East public for working with police after a reduction in the number of non-emergency calls.

However, there were still some exceptions including a handful of calls from intoxicated revellers who wanted to report themselves for being drunk and disorderly – inside their own home.

Chief Superintendent Neil Hutchison, of Northumbria Police’s Communications Department, said: “This is always one of the busiest nights of the year for our control handlers and we usually see a spike in calls.

“We would like to thank the public for their constant support and patience with us during the busy festive period.

“We are pleased to report we only received a small handful of inappropriate calls and that freed us up to deal with those who genuinely needed our assistance.

“Hundreds of calls come into our communications centres every day and we want to be able to deliver an outstanding service to everyone who contacts the emergency services.

“We hope that the public can work with us so that we can make sure those people unfortunate enough to be involved in serious incidents can receive police assistance as quickly as possible.”