Police are failing to hit their 999 response time targets to get to emergencies in large areas of Norfolk with the problem most acute around Loddon.
In villages surrounding the Chet valley town, it takes officers an average of almost 25 minutes to get to the scene of an emergency.
This is significantly longer than the rural response time target of 20 minutes, announced by Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, in January.
Data from 2025, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that response times for three of Norfolk Constabulary's 'Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT)' areas failed to hit the target.
The worst is Loddon SNT, covering villages like Gillingham, Haddiscoe, and Seething, which is around seven miles from the nearest police station at Poringland. The average response time for the area was 23 minutes and 38 seconds.
For Reepham SNT - around seven miles from the nearest police station at Aylsham - the time was 21 minutes and 25 seconds.
Harleston SNT was the third area to miss the target, with a response time of 20 minutes and six seconds. The town itself has its own police station, but covers an area around seven miles across.
The figures have raised concerns, particularly because in some areas the situation appears to be worsening.
In the area around Loddon - which is one of Norfolk's fastest growing towns - the average emergency response time has risen from 21 minutes in 2024, while there has been a 23pc increase in the number of emergencies in the area.
Sarah Taylor, Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner said it was an issue she was focussing on.
"Constabularies based in rural counties often find response times challenging, especially in large rural counties like Norfolk," she said.
"However, people working and living in our county rightly expect and deserve an appropriate level of service in emergency situations.
"I have had many conversations with the Chief Constable about this issue as, while there is generally a very good level of service in most places, I know there is a considerable amount of work taking place to ensure that satisfactory response times are being continuously met across the county."
Ms Taylor added the force had quickly implemented the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, a government initiative to enhance visible policing, and that locals have a named police officer in their neighbourhood.
The other two areas in the worst five for response times were Holt SNT (18 minutes and 52 seconds) and Long Stratton SNT (18 minutes and 41 seconds).
It means that three of the worst five are in the South Norfolk district, with one in North Norfolk and one in Broadland.
A spokeswoman from Norfolk Police said: "The majority of our emergency calls are attended within target times. However, we recognise there is a difference between response times in urban and more rural areas and we are focused on reducing this gap.
"While travel distances and road networks can have an impact on how long it can take officers to reach some locations, we are actively working on solutions to deliver a more consistent service to all communities.
"Every missed Grade A response is reviewed so that we can identify learning and make improvements and we continue to monitor our performance closely to ensure we are providing the best possible service across the county."
SPEEDY RESPONSES
The top performers for emergency response times were all in urban SNT areas, with Kings Lynn North, North Yarmouth, South Yarmouth, South and West Kings Lynn, and Cobholm & Southtown all seeing average response times of less than 10 minutes for 2025.
Strikingly, however, no Norwich areas are in the top five.
The city is split into four policing areas with Norwich East seeing the speediest times with 10 minutes, Norwich South (11 minutes and 19 seconds), Norwich North (11 minutes and 59 seconds), and Norwich West (12 minutes and four seconds).
King's Lynn North recorded the most consistent improvement of any area, with average response times falling from seven minutes and 58 seconds in 2023 to seven minutes and 50 seconds in 2025.
Thetford also showed sustained improvement, dropping from 12 minutes and five seconds in 2023 to 11 minutes and 17 seconds in 2025.
The FOI data covers the three calendar years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The figures are described by the force as a guide, as call re-grading and incomplete record updates can affect the averages.
