People reporting non-urgent police and medical matters were hit by technical faults on the 101 and 111 numbers today.

Both services had problems for more hours before the difficulties were resolved this afternoon.

Police in Scotland said they had experienced problems with the non-emergency phone number, but issues had been resolved by around 1pm.

The free UK-wide NHS helpline was also out of action for at least six hours today.

The fault began at 6.15am. Callers to the new 111 service heard a recorded message which said "Due to a technical difficulty your call cannot be delivered at this time."

It wasn't immediately known what the nature of the issue was but a spokesman said it was being worked on as a matter of priority and by 12.30pm the service had returned to normal.

Call volumes to Nhs 24 dropped to around 70 per cent of of the normal figure for a sat morning.

However, it is understood a&e depts have not seen an increase in patients as a result. Nhs 24 staff were asked to take their breaks early so additional staff were available when the 111 line was restored. 

NHS 24 in Scotland has had a troubled year with a new software package that was meant to improve the efficiency of call handling being delayed indefinitely.

It is understood it hit problems at the testing stage. The finished product is anticipated to cost some £23m more than expected.

The free 111 helpline for out of hours care and information was introduced in Scotland in April.

NHS 24 said the change was a result of patient feedback because some callers found the old number difficult to remember while others were unsure of how much their call would cost.

It said the new number would ensure that people across Scotland can access the service, whether via a landline or mobile phone free of charge, using a number that is short and easy to remember.

Meanwhile, forces across the UK also had a similar problem.

A posting on the official Police Scotland Twitter feed originally stated: "We are aware of an issue when dialling 101. Please call 01786 289070 instead. In an emergency always call 999."

Staffordshire police tweeted that the national 101 problem had been resolved, and asked people to start using it again, and other forces confirmed that the number was now working in their areas.

Northumbria Police said the 101 system was working again.

In a statement the force said: "The Northumbria Police 101 system is now working fully again.

"It had been experiencing problems earlier today.

"The emergency 999 number was not affected."

A Home Office spokesman said: "There was a technical problem affecting the 101 service this morning but we have worked with our supplier, Vodafone, to address this and can now confirm that this issue has been resolved."

NHS England said: "NHS 111 is now working normally. A previous technical issue has been resolved. The public should use the service as normal. The national divert and back up lines in place for NHS 111 worked to ensure that disruption for those phoning the service was kept to a minimum."

Vodafone fixed line corporate services provide the telephony support for NHS 111.

A Vodafone spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that this morning an issue with one of our fixed line call routing systems temporarily affected the services we provide to a number of organisations.

"However, our engineers have worked hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and services have now been restored.

"We will continue to monitor the service closely and will be carrying out a full investigation into the issue. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Regulator Ofcom said it was in contact with Vodafone to understand fully the issues that had affected 101, 111 and other organisations' telephone numbers.

A spokesman said: "The company has assured us that the problems have been resolved and we will be investigating as a matter of urgency."