Homeowners in rural areas of mid Essex have been warned to clearly identify their houses - police say it could save their lives in an emergency.

Braintree police have issued the warning after a series of incidents where emergency services were called out but could not find the right house quickly.

They were unable to give specific details of the incidents.

A Braintree police spokeswoman said: "Every effort is made by the emergency services to get to the address involved in the quickest possible time that safety permits.

"Valuable time is wasted when the emergency services arrive in the area of the incident only to spend minutes trying to locate premises which have no number or name clearly visible.

"In a medical emergency those few minutes may be the difference between life and death."

She added: "Residents should be aware the local officer may not be on duty and officers or other emergency services attending may have travelled some distance and will be unaware of the identity of premises."

Steve Turner, of Braintree police, said: "Problems are further compounded when people phone emergency services and only give the name of a house and the name of a village. People should always give a full address with a road name."

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