POLICE in North Yorkshire handled more than 600 emergency calls on Saturday - more than twice the usual number.

Staff also dealt with more than 2,000 non-emergency inquiries as residents reported fallen trees and blocked roads caused by the storm force winds and heavy rains.

Superintendent Iain Spittal, head of public access, said: "The force's call handling system has come on leaps and bounds and we're hitting our targets day after day.

"This week has proved that we have a robust system that can cope with just about anything that's thrown at it."

Officers criticised people who rang 999 to report power cuts and problems getting through to their electricity supplier.

A spokesman said: "This is not what the police are for.

"The 999 number is for life threatening situations, ongoing crimes or other genuine emergencies.

"Every call to 999 not a real emergency could be diverting an operator away from a situation that is genuinely one of life or death."