POLICE Scotland received more than 800 abandoned 999 calls in just 24 hours over Christmas.

Staff at the force’s control centres said between 6am on Christmas Day and the same time on Boxing Day, staff handled at total of 807 emergency calls where the caller hung up without providing information.

Children being given their parents’s phones, people trying out new devices they got for Christmas, as well as phones being put away in pockets and handbags without the screen being locked, were thought to be the main sources of the “dropped” calls.

Police Scotland says the fake calls placed added pressure on police as each call had to be investigated.

Police have advised those who do accidentally dial 999 to explain what they have done rather than hang up.