THE NEW 101 non emergency police number launched today.

From this morning Gloucestershire Police has changed its non-emergency number to 101, making it cheaper and easier to call the police. Assistant Chief Constable, Ivor Twydell, said: "The new 101 number gives people one easily memorised number to call us on for non urgent matters.

"You can use this number to report a crime, contact local officers, get crime prevention advice and for any other non emergency."

Whilst 999 remains as the recognised number to report emergencies the 2010 British Crime Survey found that only half of the public knew which number to call if they wanted to speak to their local police about non-urgent crime and anti-social behaviour issues.

Calls to 101 will cost 15p per call, irrespective of how long the call lasts and applies to landlines and mobile phones.

The old 0845 090 1234 will remain active for six months after the change over to 101 to ensure a smooth crossover for the public.

101 is already in use in a number of areas across the country and will be rolled out across the rest of the UK by the end of the year.