An emergency call handling team had to deal with everything from abusive language to someone asking for a ride home in the early hours of New Year's Day.

The Essex Police control room said 999 calls had included reports of disturbances and non-emergencies.

The team revealed on Twitter that one person had called to request a lift home.

An hour later, just after 7.30am, the team again tweeted to tell followers that a member of the control room had taken another non-emergency call from someone who then swore and used abusive language.

The force control room appealed for the public to think before calling 999, adding: "Our call takers shouldn't be spoken to like this."

Overnight, Essex Police dished out more than £18,000 in fines and fixed penalty notices after hundreds of people chose to attend unlicensed events.

Officers attended three main locations, including a conservation-run church in Thorndon Park, an abandoned warehouse in Brentwood and a house party in Sewardstonebury.

Meanwhile, in Suffolk, the force control room said it had received a few fireworks related calls late on New Year's Eve, but that the overnight shift had been otherwise free of any significant incident, including public order incidents or large gatherings breaching public health regulations.