Officials have carried out a review of the decision by Norfolk County Council to post a much-mocked tweet that people should "visit their nearest fire station" if they could not get through on 999.

The message was posted on the morning of June 25, when a BT fault meant that 999 calls across large areas of the country were failing to connect to the emergency services.

The council - which runs the fire service - tweeted: "We are aware of issues with some people getting through on 999 calls.

"If you require the fire service, please visit your nearest fire station, who will be on hand to assist you."

Eastern Daily Press: A review was carried out over Norfolk County Council's tweet about visiting fire stations when 999 calls were not connectingA review was carried out over Norfolk County Council's tweet about visiting fire stations when 999 calls were not connecting (Image: Twitter)

The tweet was mocked by social media users, who said the option would not be much use to people whose homes were on fire, and was then deleted.

Eastern Daily Press: The emergency service call system outage meant people could not get through on the 999 numberThe emergency service call system outage meant people could not get through on the 999 number (Image: Bill Smith)

A subsequent tweet from Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, run by the county council, said people struggling to get through should call 101.

READ MORE: Wildfire warning issued by Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service

Eastern Daily Press: Liberal Democrat county councillor Lucy ShiresLiberal Democrat county councillor Lucy Shires (Image: NNDC)

The issue was raised by Lucy Shires, Liberal Democrat county councillor for North Walsham East at a meeting of Norfolk County Council's Conservative-controlled cabinet on Monday.

She said: "This council tweeted that residents should report in person to a fire station to report an emergency.

"Will this council review its contingency plans and community resilience in case such an outage occurs again?"

Eastern Daily Press: Margaret Dewsbury, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for communities and partnershipsMargaret Dewsbury, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for communities and partnerships (Image: Norfolk Conservatives)

Margaret Dewsbury, the council's cabinet member for communities and partnerships, said the service had carried out an internal review and was feeding into other reviews, including the national one.

READ MORE: New fire engines have special siren to alert drivers of soundproofed cars

She said an action plan had been drawn up for if such a 999 outage happens again, including what advice to communicate to reassure the public.

The council said it could not comment further on what the internal review had concluded.

But a spokesman said: "This was a fast-moving situation and when 999 first stopped working we wanted to reassure the public that Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service had people available at all stations to continue to support our communities on a range of incidents.

"We deleted and reposted what people should do with a clearer message with the 101 number as the situation evolved."