Avon and Somerset Police has been dealing with technical issues that resulted in its phone lines going down.
The 101 phone service was temporarily down for several hours due to “unforeseen circumstances” on Sunday evening (October 27th) and has since been restrored, it said.
The 101 phone number is the non-emergency number to contact the police in the UK and residents can use it to report non-emergencies, such as a stolen car, damaged property, or suspected drug use. You can also call to give information to the police or ask for crime prevention advice.
With the non-emergency number down, people were being asked to only call 999 in case of an emergency whilst engineers try to fix the phone line issue.
A spokesman said: “Phone lines to our control room have been restored and calls for service are now being handled by Avon and Somerset Police staff again.”
“We would continue to ask people as much as possible to report any non-urgent matters online at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/report as opposed to calling 101 to help us manage demand.”
“People should continue to call 999 as they normally would – when there is an emergency, a crime is in progress or there is a danger to life.”
“We are grateful for the assistance of neighbouring forces this evening to answer 999 calls, as well as the public’s patience while we have been seeking a resolution to this issue.
“External and internal phone lines, other than 101 and 999 calls, remain affected and out of action. Work to restore them continues.”
