A staggering 15,205 calls were made to police in the first two weeks of lockdown restrictions easing – as domestic abuse crimes and road accidents increased.

Cambridgeshire police say they received 2,000 more emergency and non-emergency calls to their demand hub from April 12 compared to two weeks before.

The force noted that domestic abuse and road related incidents had gone up and more crime had been reported in general.

It comes as more than 3,000 domestic abuse crimes were logged with police from across the county at the start of this year.

Transport usage has also surged since restrictions were partially lifted – with road journey times taking an average of 42 per cent longer.

Detective Superintendent Michael Branston, head of demand, said: “The number of Covid-19 related calls are dropping but overall calls for service are climbing.

“Our call handlers are working tirelessly to provide the best service possible but I’m encouraging the public to consider our online services where appropriate.

“In an emergency always dial 999, but for non-emergencies our force website has an array of information and guidance as well as forms to report crime, intelligence and Covid-19 breaches.”

People are being urged to consider using online services to report crime to police as demand for its services continues to rise.

“As normality continues to return for the public, the same is true for policing”, said Det Supt Branston.

“Our demand hub staff are available around the clock should they be needed, but I would ask people to first consider the online services available.

“With the wealth of resources available on our website it can be quicker to try there and keep a call handler free for someone who may need their help more urgently.”

Statistics showed that 96 per cent of people would use the force’s online services again, 94 per cent said all of their tasks had been completed and 88 per cent said the online services were easy to use.

Those who are pressed for time, hard of hearing or can’t talk freely can visit the web chat page or click the green button in the bottom right corner of any page on the force’s website to start a chat with a specialist operator.