PEOPLE in County Durham are being reminded of the non-emergency police telephone number.

Cards are being sent to 300,000 homes with the number - 0845 606 0365 - which was introduced for routine calls in April as part of a shake-up in the force's communications.

Next month, the numbers for individual police stations will be phased out and callers will hear a message telling them to call the new number, which is charged at a local rate.

People should still call 999 in an emergency.