HUNDREDS of extra unnecessary calls have been made to the North Yorkshire Police control room.

Staff at the Force Control Room say they have had to deal with more calls than usual due to people phoning police with queries about the upcoming Tour de France.

Residents have been urged only to use the emergency 999 number when appropriate, and check the North Yorkshire Police or City of York Council websites for answers to Grand Depart-related queries, rather than contact the police directly.

Paul Richardson, deployment manager in the Force Control Room said the rise in calls had been “unexpected”, and led to “a demanding few days”, but the increase was mainly to the non-emergency 101 number.

He said: “On Wednesday we received and dealt with 877 calls, which is over 200 more than projected and Thursday again saw an increase by over 100, taking 774. The whole team have worked hard to continue a good service is delivered. Thankfully the 999 calls remained as estimated with no serious or major incidents that should raise concern.

"The TDF has been partially responsible for the increase and as such North Yorkshire Police have worked hard with the media to ensure that the right calls go to the right organisations and departments. Road closures and information are readily available on the local council websites.”