The North West Ambulance Service has launched a children's book to teach kids when to call 999.

Stories such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretel have been given a modern twist in the book, written by Mathew Owen and illustrated by Emmeline Pidgen.

The book was created after NWAS revealed it had received more than one million 999 calls in 2019, with over a third for non-emergency situations.

Callers rang for incidents including slips and falls, stubbed toes, hiccups, stomach pains, and even being unable to reach the toilet roll.

Talking about the book, Ged Blezard, Director of Operations at NWAS, said: “Calls to the ambulance service increase year on year, however of the 1.3 million calls made last year, only 10 per cent were actually for immediately life threatening incidents.

“There is clearly a need to educate the public on what constitutes an emergency situation, and what better way to connect with children than to turn the old fairy tales we all know and love into stories we can all learn from?

“The book is filled with beautiful pictures and engaging stories which will hopefully stay with children throughout their lives and help them make the right decisions in future.

“By educating children early on, we hope to provide them with the knowledge they need to act responsibly and with due care should they ever find themselves in an emergency.”

To download a copy of the book, visit nwas.nhs.uk/get-involved/children-youth and click on the Emergency Fairy Tales tab.