NEW figures suggest that the number of abandoned 101 calls have jumped by three-quarters in a year.

Using freedom of information laws, BBC News asked police forces around the country for the number of calls to 999 and 101 phone lines over the last 18 months that had been “abandoned”.

Data provided by Wiltshire Police show that the number of abandoned 101 calls rose by 72 per cent between June 2016 and June 2017. Last June, 330 calls were abandoned – compared to 567 this year.

However, the number of abandoned 999 calls to Wiltshire Police has dropped slightly – from 129 in June 2016 to 109 in June 2017.

An “abandoned” call is one where the caller hangs up before they are connected to a police operator.

Wiltshire Police said that they were working to improve the 101 service. The current average wait to be connected to a 101 operator was three minutes and 44 seconds.

A police spokesman said of the 999 service: “We answer over 90 per cent of 999 calls within 10 seconds and this remains consistent.”

He said that the majority of abandoned 999 calls were due to technical issues, such as a caller’s phone accidentally dialling 999 or the caller’s mobile signal cutting out.