THE police are asking people to report all non emergencies to them via forms on their new website from today, Wednesday, April 19.

Any incidents should be reported on the website www.devon-cornwall.police.uk rather than the old 101 email address, which is being discontinued.

A police spokesperson explained the reason for the change, saying: 'The email reports we receive are often missing vital bits of information which we need to be able to understand the situation properly and respond appropriately.

'As a result, we often need to engage in a lengthy email conversation to get the information we need which can take significant time and which, unfortunately, impacts our ability to deal with reports in a timely way.

'The use of web forms will prevent this problem because they are constructed with “prompts” to ensure we have all the information we need from the very first time you get in touch. This allows our response to be both faster and more efficient.

'An automatic message has been added to the old 101 email mailbox to support anyone who sends in any correspondence after this date.'