He said he had written to the Chief Constable on April 18 about a specific complaint which involved a constituent unsuccessfully trying to report an incident of minor vandalism.

“The call did not warrant using the 999 number and, after waiting some eight minutes for a reply, she eventually gave up,” said Councillor Speirs.

“I remember that Angus councillors had a meeting with some senior police officers a year or so ago and we all complained about the poor service from the call centre.

“We were assured that things would improve, but they have not.

“My wife and I have had occasion to try and contact the police about various problems, and we too have experienced lengthy delays.

“The police call centre is almost as inefficient as NHS 24, although the delays with that service can be even longer.

“It is quite unacceptable that services dealing with crime and vandalism on the one hand, and people who have health concerns on the other hand, should be faced with such poor services.”

Assistant Chief Constable Willie Bald confirmed the service was currently introducing new call handling arrangements designed to improve the overall response to answering non-emergency calls.

“These changes are being phased in on a gradual basis and during this time our performance in this area is being closely monitored,” he said.

“This allows adjustments to be made as required both in terms of addressing call routing and staffing issues.”

In a letter to councillor Speirs, Mr Bald said it was “regrettable” that his constituent experienced a lengthy delay in having her call answered.

“We continue to place a high reliance on support from members of the community and our interaction with them remains vital,” he continued.

“Use of the emergency 999 system to report ongoing crimes and incidents is, of course, entirely acceptable.”