THE number of 999 calls to police on New Year's Eve dropped 6.9 per cent compared to last year, it has been revealed.

West Mercia Police received a total of 405 emergency calls between 7pm on Thursday, December 31 2015 and 7am on Friday, January 1 2016, compared to 433 in the same period last year.

Of the calls received, 97.3 per cent were answered within ten seconds and during the busiest hour between 1am and 2am call handlers had one 999 call every 56 seconds.

Chief Inspector Sean Kent said: "New Year's Eve can be one of the busiest nights of the year to police, and we had extra resources in place to meet the demand.

"I'd like to thank our communities for their cooperation during this time. The reduction in 999 calls meant those genuinely in emergency situations were able to speak to someone as quickly as possible and get the help they required.

"I would continue to ask the public to think carefully about whether 999 is the correct service for their needs. For non-emergencies, you can always get in touch by calling 101 or by using our online services."

Non-emergency calls - also known as 101 - saw a slight increase of 0.4 per cent.

Despite the reduction in emergency calls, police and paramedics were kept busy in Worcester over New Year's Eve.

An increase in calls to the West Midlands Ambulance Service of 15 per cent was seen between midnight and 4am.

And by 8am on New Year's Day all 24 cells at Worcester Police Station in Castle Street were filled, with most people arrested for drink-related offences.