999: What's Your Emergency?

Blackpool's emergency services are tackling the fallout from the dizzying array of 'party drugs' that are on the rise in towns across the UK. PC Kris Beasley has seen it all but he -alongside his police, ambulance and fire colleagues -is increasingly facing the fallout from punters who are playing a chemical lottery getting high.

This week's programme focuses on kids, who are taking up more and more of the emergency services' time, whether it's prank calls, bad behaviour or poor parenting.

This week's programme focuses on relationships. When things go wrong more of us than ever are dialing 999, asking the emergency services to pick up the pieces and protect us from those we used to trust. An increasing number of999 calls involve relationship disputes, but they're never easy to resolve.

It's revelry and bonfire night - when they see a five-fold increase in call-outs. Meanwhile, the police are dealing with frequent caller, Lindsay Taylor, whose boozy bust-ups with her partner have resulted in 140 calls to her address and paramedic. Alan Gardener is called to a man staggering down the street suffering the effects of what could be contraband alcohol.

This episode focuses on people's state of mind. A quarter of the UK population will suffer from mental health problems at some time in their lives. And with the number of psychiatric beds falling by 80% in a generation, inevitably the emergency services are dealing with more people with serious mental health problems.

This week's programme focuses on how women in our society are changing -whether it's putting themselves in harm's way as members of the emergency services, or the increasing number of women the 999 system is having to deal with.

Britain likes to drink and Blackpool is no different -the town is a magnet for stag and hen parties, with around2,000 clubs and bars. "It's a mixture between a zoo and Jeremy Kyle's waiting room," says Sgt Dunne. "We've practically turned into a nation of just drunkards really, haven't we?"

This programme features calls to the emergency services about a raft of non-emergencies, from culinary injuries to broken light bulbs, as bizarre as they are diverse. And an increasing number of people are calling 999 with non-emergencies, as well as hoax calls, that are costing the already stretched services millions and potentially diverting crews from genuine emergencies.

With 13 million visitors each year, Blackpool is Britain's most popular seaside resort.While the older generation come to re-live the town's heyday, younger visitors -particularly those on alcohol-fuelled stag, hen and birthday weekends -are more likely to trouble the emergency services.

We ask the police, ambulance and fire staff what they really think about the jobs they do. With more and more social problems falling to them, time and again they reveal how proud they are to be the last bastions of our society protecting us from each other and from ourselves.