Data from 2023 to 2025, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the Beccles Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) area, which covers Beccles, Bungay, and their surrounding villages, recorded the third-slowest Immediate-grade 999 response times of all 18 Suffolk SNT areas in 2025.

Officers took an average of 15 minutes and 19 seconds to reach the most serious emergencies in the area last year.

Bungay, as part of the Beccles SNT, is among the worst in Suffolk (Image: Nick Butcher)

The figures mean it leaves people who live in the area waiting around twice as long as people in Ipswich or Lowestoft when they call 999.

Where the Beccles SNT ranks

When Suffolk Constabulary's 18 SNT areas are ranked from slowest to fastest for Immediate-grade 999 response in 2025, the Beccles SNT area comes third worst in the county.

The worse figures are for Eye with 23 minutes 48 seconds and Leiston with 17 minutes 39 seconds.

However, in places like Lowestoft, the average wait time is only seven minutes and 51 seconds, and Ipswich Central is seven minutes and three seconds.

The 18 Safer Neighbourhood Teams areas in Suffolk for emergency response times in 2025 (Image:........

© Eastern Daily Press