The benefits of a new 'live chat' service launched by Nottinghamshire Police are already being felt by local residents.

The service launched on Thursday 28 April to give the public a new way to report crimes, incidents and gain advice.

Since being active it has been used by the public to report numerous incidents including concerns about the welfare of a neighbour's dog, the break-in of a Slovenian truck and a breach of bail conditions.

The live chat function appears as an icon in the bottom right hand corner of the website and when people click on it, it opens up a chat box where people can engage in text conversations with operators in the contact centre, who can ensure they get the help they need.

Superintendent Suk Verma, head of contact management, said he was pleased with how well it had worked since being launched.

"Chats ranging from concern about the welfare of a neighbour's dog, a missing wallet and the break in of a Slovenian truck have been taken. These are calls that would have come through the 101 non-emergency phone line," he said.

"More serious matters have also been reported and in one case a very shaken member of the public reported someone in breach of bail conditions and control room operators were able to dispatch officers.

"Live chat is Nottinghamshire's first real-time digital public contact channel which offers the public a convenient way of interacting with the contact centre through the force's website for non-emergency matters.

"It opens up a new way for people to communicate with Nottinghamshire Police and means we may be able to give access to some people who might not otherwise have contacted us.

"It works in much the same way as live chat functions that people may expect to see on retail websites where they can ask people for help before they buy something. In our case, we can guide them through the process of reporting a crime, or tell them how to find a form or advice."

Anyone who needs to contact Nottinghamshire Police, can use the live chat function on the force website which can be found by clicking here.