CALLS to police in England's largest county have more than doubled this summer - leading to the redeployment of officers and staff.

North Yorkshire's Assistant Chief Constable Phil Cain confirmed the massive increase and said it meant they were having to work "extremely hard".

“We would usually expect to have approximately 200 'live' incidents, but our force control room is currently having to deal with about 500 live matters and that’s a big jump," he said.

"We’re not alone – police forces around the country are experiencing the same upward trend – but it does mean we’re having to work extremely hard to keep on top of the extra demand.

“Every call that comes in to us is immediately assessed for threat, risk and harm, and officers are being sent promptly to every prioritised incident, so we are on top of the situation.

"Nevertheless, on some low-level non-threat incidents, people are waiting longer than usual to see an officer.

"That isn’t the service we expect – or want – to give in North Yorkshire, so we have redeployed some officers and staff from other parts of our Force, to make sure we get the wait time back to normal as soon as possible.”

The news about the surge in summer calls comes just weeks after the force opened a new £500k extension to its force control room, which will provide an extra call-centre facility for the Force to use in times of extreme demand.

Mr Cain said: "The concern for us now – and for other forces – is that although this summer’s demand has been exceptional, it is still part of an on-going trend for more calls to the police, that has been going on for a couple of years, and shows no sign of slowing down.

"We’ve recruited extra staff and the new facilities will obviously help, but we are also looking at how we deal with the problem of increased demand in the long term.

"Meanwhile, the message I’d like to give to the public is that we are here to keep you safe, and you should not hesitate to call the police on 999 in an emergency, or 101 if it is not an emergency."