Devon and Cornwall Police says its 999 and 101 reporting systems are out of action due to technical difficulties.

The force is urging the public to only call in a life or death emergency as a result.

Emergency calls are currently being transferred to other forces.

Police said extra officers have been deployed "to maximise visibility and reassurance" during the outage.

Non-urgent matters can be sent in via email using [email protected].

A force spokesperson said: "Devon and Cornwall Police are currently experiencing technical issues with the 999 and 101 incident reporting systems.

"During this time, members of the public are asked to consider whether the matter is an emergency when trying to make contact.

"In an emergency, you can still call 999 and you will be put through to another force.

"The details will then be passed on to Devon and Cornwall Police and we will be able to deploy resources.

"We ask that you please bear with us and contact us via [email protected] to report any non-urgent matters, or call 101 later.

"Officers have been deployed out on patrol to maximise visibility and reassurance at this time."