Don’t hang up if you or your mobile phone dials 999 by mistake, say North Yorkshire Police.

The emergency service says by staying on the line, you will help save control room operators from wasting thousands of hours a year.

The force receives 18,640 calls a year that are accidents or “pocket dials” when unintentional pressure on a mobile phone’s screen leads to it making a call.

According to North Yorkshire Police’s Facebook page, when the caller rings up without speaking, it is handled as a “silent call” which could have been made by someone in trouble but unable to speak.

The 999 operator passes it to the police control room, who then have to try and ring back to establish whether it is a genuine emergency, and waste time that could be used for answering genuine 999 or 101 calls.

The post says: “If you accidentally dial 999 then the best thing you can do is to stay on the line and let the operator know that it was an accident, and that no assistance is required.

Please don’t just hang up.”

The post also advises people to keep their phone safe and out of reach from children and pets and that it should be locked before being put in a pocket or bag.