Northumbria Police piloted the 101 number in July to deal with less-urgent problems such as anti-social behaviour or noise complaints.

But in the second half of 2006 there were 11,000 more calls to the 999 system compared to the previous year.

A force spokesman said the World Cup may have contributed to the increase.

The continuing popularity of mobile phones may also be a factor, he added.

I think it's going to take a little while to sink into people's minds Alexandra Prescott, the Northumbria 101 business development manager

Alexandra Prescott, the Northumbria 101 business development manager, admitted it could take some time for the new number to take hold.

She said: "I think it's going to take a little while to sink into people's minds.

"The 999 number was launched in the 1930s, and recently a survey showed that even now not everyone knows when it's appropriate to call.

"That's what we need to be looking at.

"However, it's working tremendously well and we have taken 88,000 calls since the beginning of July."

Calls to the 101 system are passed through to local authorities as well as police.

Between June and December 2006, Northumbria Police's 999 operators received 168,958 calls compared to 157,336 for the same period in 2005.