Thousands of crimes went unreported in Kent because police failed to answer 999 calls.

The force registered one of the biggest increases in the number of abandoned emergency calls, from 877 in 2013 to 3,405 last year.

The figures were obtained following a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

It found at least 250,000 calls have been abandoned across the country in the last four years.

The reason for some unanswered calls could be a mobile phone signal had been lost or because the phone accidentally dialled 999.

Every abandoned call is reviewed to ensure there was no risk to the public as a result of the missed call.

In some cases the number will be called back.

Police in Kent received more than 280,000 calls in 2016, an increase of 20,000 on the year before.

A spokesman said: “Kent Police, like many forces, continues to see year-on-year increases in the number of 999 and 101 calls it receives, as members of the public often view the police as both the first and last resort for emergencies and non-emergencies that require help from the blue-light services.”

The average time to answer was eight seconds.

But last year 89,900 calls to the police were ended before they were answered or were cut off across 21 police forces that responded to the FOI request.

Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, said: “When someone calls 999 they want to talk to the police because it’s an emergency.

“They don’t want to be left on hold.

“It’s unacceptable. But this investigation shows that people are being left hanging on the phone or putting the phone down because they can’t get someone to pick up.

“Thousands of calls are going unanswered and thousands of crimes are going unreported.”

Officers say the total number of calls they receive has risen because the police are seen as the “first and last resort” for all kinds of emergencies as well as less urgent problems.

Among those to respond to the survey, the Suffolk force had the highest number of abandoned calls: 38,219 last year, three times as many as in 2014.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said 15,814 calls had were not answered last year; West Midlands had 13,616 and Thames Valley 4,406.

By contrast in some areas the number of missed calls fell between 2015 and 2016, including Cambridgeshire (down 60 per cent to 421), Avon and Somerset (down 44 per cent to 2,673) and Sussex (down 26 per cent to 2,323).

Among 11 forces that provided figures dating back to 2013, the number had risen by 48 per cent from 12,616 to 18,602.

At the end of last year Cleveland police launched a review of control room processes after one in 11 calls to 999 went unanswered, up from one in 171 in January last year.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Nobody in need of urgent help should have their emergency calls unanswered.

“While answering 999 calls is an operational matter for the police, we have maintained protection for police spending so forces have the resources they need to carry out their important work.”

In 2012 Northampton police missed a 999 call from a screaming teenager just before she, her sister and both their parents were stabbed to death in their home.

Their bodies were found two days later.