NORTH Wales Police are appealing to people to use their common sense when making 999 calls to them during these difficult times.

In the wake of the new guidelines announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night, police have been inundated with calls relating to the coronavirus outbreak.

One caller asked if he could still take his car for an MOT and another asked if they could pick their daughter up from university.

Also, a window cleaner asked if he was still able to work, but police are stressing these are not questions for the police or other emergency services as they deal with genuine calls.

A police spokesperson said: "We are experiencing a high volume of calls in our control room today after the Prime Minister’s announcement last night. Things such as 'I’ve got an MOT for my car today, can I still go?', 'I’m in the process of moving house, am I allowed to continue?', 'My daughter is in university and I need to go and get her, can I go?' and 'I’m a window cleaner, can I still go to work?'.

"We understand that people are concerned. However, these calls are putting additional pressure on our Control Room and our call handlers are unable to answer these questions.

"We advise the public to check the Government website around the latest advice on social distancing and to keep the 999 line free for emergencies only.

Police have told people in North Wales that they will now see a different policing approach whereby incidents will be risk assessed and prioritised appropriately. But they want the public to be assured that police will still provide assistance, reassurance and a true quality policing service to the public of North Wales.