Police are urging people to consider the best way to contact them so that emergencies can be prioritised.

There have more than 62,000 emergency calls from throughout the county this year.

There have also been more than 165,000 non-emergency calls made to Hertfordshire Constabulary so far in 2017.

Assistant Chief Constable Jane Swinburne responsible for public contact said: “In today’s world where most have access to the internet via their mobile phones, we know that many will find it more convenient to get in touch with us online rather than picking up the phone.

“Demand in the control room remains high following national and international high profile incidents, as the public continues to be vigilant and rightly reports any suspicious activity, which we do appreciate.

“We work hard to ensure that we answer emergency calls as quickly as possible to get the right response to those in need. “

Currently only 21 per cent of calls to 999 are genuine emergencies, which means that call handlers cannot deal with people at risk.

Police insist that people who are danger, or can see a crime being carried out should still call 999 as these are still emergency calls.

Roughly 57 people each day choose to contact the Constabulary using their webchat service, which was launched earlier this year and steadily growing in popularity.