Residents of two UK towns have been issued a major warning following news that 999 services are down from landlines.

Vunerable people living in the Runcorn and Widnes area of Cheshire could be left without the facilities to call for help. Officials have stressed that locals need to use a mobile phone to reach the emergency services instead. Cheshire Fire and Rescue services said the problem should be settled by 1pm this afternoon. It remains unclear what triggered the problem.

Cheshire Fireand Rescue Services said: "We have been made aware of a loss of 999 services from some landlines in the Runcorn and Widnes area. If you need to dial 999, please use a mobile phone. Normal service is expected to resume at around 13:00." In response to the social media post, someone asked whether services using the 911 number are affected too.

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The fire service responded on Facebook: "Yes as the landlines aren't working at all according to the information we have been given." Unfortunately, residents living in the Manley area experienced the same problem on July 4. The month before, some landlines in Ellesmere Port encountered the issue. Last year, landline calls to 999 services went down in four separate areas in Cheshire.

The fire service announced that Macclesfield, Knutsford, Bollington and Northwich had been affected. According to the authority, services were down in September due to "technical issues". North West Ambulance Service and Cheshire Police have not posted anything on social media about the current issue. The Mirror have contacted them for comment.