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AUTHORITIES have hailed the popularity of a non-emergency telephone service.

Hampshire County Council (HCC) has praised the use of the 101 number - which was saved from closure in February - in the battle against anti-social behaviour.

It is designed to be used for reporting non-emergency incident to the authorities, such as excessive noise, rowdy and intimidating behaviour and alcohol-related trouble.

Since February, 455 calls were made to the service in the Winchester and Test Valley area, while 538 were received in the Eastleigh and New Forest district.

Cllr Ken Thornber, leader of HCC, said: "Not only is the 101 non-emergency number an excellent first port of call for residents to report anti-social behaviour issues, it also provides valuable local information to our accredited community safety officers.

"The number of calls that have been passed from 101 to our ACSOs since February show that the service has been widely adopted by the people of Hampshire as an effective method of tackling community safety issues."

In February this year the Hampshire Police Authority announced the service had been saved until March 2009. It was faced with closure after central government stopped funding the number.

To ease the blow Whitehall gave a one-off sum of £220,000 in compensation, and this, combined with saving made by amalgamating the 101 and police non-emergency call centres, allowed the service to continue for another year.

9:08am Tuesday 13th May 2008

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