999 phone line goes down: Police issue urgent warning to those reporting emergencies
The 999 emergency line is currently down
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Britons struggled to make 999 calls this morning, with a technical fault causing havoc for a number of police, fire, and ambulance services.
Many people attempting to report an emergency were unable to connect with the first responders' phone line.
People were told to phone the 101 phone number usually used for less urgent calls.
The Metropolitan Police said: "Due to a technical fault that is impacting a number of police forces, many 999 calls are not connecting.
⚠️ Due to a technical fault that is impacting a number of police forces, many 999 calls are not connecting.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 25, 2023
📞 Until further notice, please call 101 in an emergency.
🚫 Please ONLY call in an emergency and please wait until later to make any 101 non-emergency calls.
"Until further notice, please call 101 in an emergency.
"Please only call in an emergency and please wait until later to make any 101 non-emergency calls."
It is unclear exactly which forces were impacted, although the Met Police statement was shared by South Wales Police, Greater Manchester Police and Derbyshire Police.
In a tweet of their own, Hampshire Police suggested that the technical fault came from a problem with BT's systems.
It said: "Our colleagues at BT are having significant systems issues this morning and as things stand the 999 system would appear to be down."
On average across the UK, police forces receive a 999 call every three seconds.
In total the three emergency services get 100,000 phone calls via the three number line every day.
Problems with the service were first reported at around 8.30am.
The issue was fixed shortly after 10am.The Metropolitan Police said: “The 999 system has been restored following an earlier nationwide technical fault.”