Five police control room staff have been suspended amid claims they made hundreds of 999 calls at quiet times to massage performance figures.

The workers, employed by G4S Public Services and working for Lincolnshire Police, are alleged to have made the test calls to ensure faster call answering times were recorded. Emergency call handlers for the force are required to answer 92 per cent of calls within 10 seconds, or G4S Public Services is fined.

It is claimed that hundreds of illegitimate test calls were made in October, November and December 2015. Figures show 724 were carried out across those three months.

In November and December the handlers failed to meet targets, dipping to 90.19 per cent in November and 89.24 per cent in December on genuine calls.