Sussex Police has introduced a new policy to improve efficiency in answering emergency and non-emergency calls.

The public are being told when to use the 999 system and when to use the 0845 60 70 999 non- emergency number to counter the growing number of calls.

It is hoped it will cut the number of time-consuming queries which prevent real emergencies being reported.

Recent 999 calls included a man who wanted police to buy him some petrol, a woman who called to say her washing machine had broken and could they call an engineer and a man who wanted to know the times of buses in Brighton and Hove.

Police hope the new policy will also mean callers receive better information and advice rather than being put through to the wrong department.

Members of the public will receive a copy of the new policy document in the next few weeks.

Call handlers have been trained in deciding whether 999 calls are genuine emergencies. If they are not the caller will be told of the 0845 number.

Officers will soon be given voicemail facilities to prevent callers being faced with a constant ringing tone.

People are also being urged to make use of email and the internet to know to further unblock phone lines.

Superintendent Colin Crookes said: "The new immediate response policy makes some big changes to the way Sussex Police works."

He said the force received 6,000 calls every day of which 2,000 were 999 calls routed to a resourcing centre and the remainder went to the switchboard.

Supt Crookes said: "We are clarifying the call grading policy so we can achieve three main aims. Firstly, the system has to support staff who decide on a daily basis what calls the police should handle and what priority we should place on the calls.

"It clarifies who has a responsibility in terms of who should respond and the new policy also informs the public so we clear up some of the ambiguities about how we make the decisions we do.

In May 1999, 75 per cent of 999 calls countywide were "inappropriate" compared to 57 per cent now.

Supt Crookes said: "Although this figure has dropped we have to provide a credible alternative for non emergency calls. The 999 system will therefore be much slicker and more efficient."

People are asked to call 999 if there is the threat of a loss of life, serious risk to public safety, serious harm to people, serious harm or loss to property, the commission of a serious offence with offenders near or at the scene.