GREATER Manchester Police are begging people to only call 999 in an emergency after a surge in calls saw staff called into work on their days off.

Officers from the force received more than a thousand extra calls than usual yesterday, August 14.

Just under 2,500 emergency calls were made to GMP on Friday, compared to 1,590 on the same day in 2019.

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: "The demand on our resources is immense at the moment with this unprecedented pressure on our call operators and the force.

"Despite these huge challenges we answered these calls on average in 24 seconds, and non-emergency calls in an average of two minutes and 35 seconds.

"This has only been possible through our staff working long shifts on what should be their days off.

"I am really worried that the number of 999 calls we receive which are not emergencies will stop someone getting through who is in genuine trouble.

"Please only use 999 in a real emergency. Wherever possible use the online system."

GMP can be contacted via 101, the non-emergency line, to report crimes which need a police response, but are not critical.

You should only call 999 if in incident is currently taking place and there is, or there is likely to be, a risk of danger to life, use or threat of violence, serious injury to someone, or serious damage to property.

A variety of crimes and other incidents such as missing persons, lost or found property, or breaches of covid-19 measures can all be reported online.

Visit gmp.police.uk to report a crime.