Cumbria Constabulary has come in seventh in the ranking of the fastest 999 call response time.

Personal injury experts at Claims.co.uk revealed that the constabulary's average call response time is 8.17 seconds.

Lincolnshire Police has the quickest call response time, averaging just seven seconds, while Bedfordshire is ranked at the bottom with a staggering 30.33 seconds.

The data gathered the average time it takes for a call to be transferred to each police force in the UK from March 2023 to February 2024, with the mean answer time for each month was weighted to calculate the final average.

A spokesperson from Claims.co.uk said: "The time it takes for the police to respond to a 999 call is crucial – the longer the caller waits, the higher the risk of harm and danger to the individual.

"While it's great to see that the average call response time for the top ranking forces is under ten seconds, those that rank at the bottom will likely be concerning to locals.

"However, the slowest response times should not instigate doubt on the perseverance and effort of police forces throughout the UK, as it instead suggests that the bottom-ranking forces are understaffed; these areas perhaps need more funding so that they can offer as much support as possible to residents of their areas."

The second fastest is Norfolk Constabulary, averaging a call response time of 7.16 seconds.

West Yorkshire Police follows in third place, with a mean call response time of 7.65 seconds.

Ranked fourth is Cleveland Police, with their average call response time reaching 7.75 seconds.

Not far behind, Greater Manchester Police secure fifth with their response time averaging 7.88 seconds.

In stark contrast, Wiltshire Police lands second from last with an average response time of 19.69 seconds.

West Mercia Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary have an average response time of 18.47 and 17.19 seconds respectively.

Ranking fifth from bottom is Suffolk Constabulary, with an average call response time of 17 seconds.