Suffolk police are urging people to use the "right line" as they took the rare step of throwing open the doors to their control room.

And the police officer in charge of the force's 999 control room wants to ask the public to make sure they're "helping other members of the community by using the right line".

Suffolk Constabulary's 10-hour tweetathon saw everything from a naked man running through Ipswich, a deliberate fire in Bury St Edmunds and a man being fished out of a river before being arrested.

As well as serving to share the day-to-day of the control room with the general public, Chief Inspector Shawn Wakeling said they were trying to help people follow the right channels when contacting the police.

East Anglian Daily Times: Chief Inspector Shawn Wakeling.Chief Inspector Shawn Wakeling. (Image: Suffolk Constabulary)

"Of course, we do have people call us because they've lost their keys and can't get into their house or they want to know whether it's appropriate to have a barbecue in Christchurch Park," he said.

"My advice to people would be if there's something happening now, right in front of you, where there's an offence taking place, yes we want that 999 call so we can offer support."

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Ch Insp Wakeling also highlighted that there had been a 25% rise in the number of abandoned calls in the past year, due in part to how easy it is to accidentally dial 999 on Android phones.

He added that 999 and 101 calls are intriniscally linked, as they're dealt with in the same room by operators trained in the same way.

READ MORE: Suffolk police share real-time incidents in 10-hour tweetathon

"If someone calls 999 with a matter that wasn't appropriate that, of course, takes away from another higher risk call," said Ch Insp Wakeling.

"I would urge the public to think about that. They're helping other members of community by using the right line."