A SOUTHAMPTON MP has welcomed the funding agreement by the Labour led city council to save the non-emergency 101 number after his Government pulled the plug on funding the two-year pilot.

Itchen MP and Cabinet minister John Denham, pictured, said: "The 101 service has been a great success in Southampton. It has allowed people to report issues like antisocial behaviour, noise nuisance and vandalism without blocking up the emergency 999 number."

Labour and Lib Dem councillors set aside £5,000 to help maintain the service for another year with the bulk of the cash coming from Hampshire Police Authority.

But Tory parliamentary candidate for Itchen, Councillor Royston Smith, who agreed to implement the rescue package before his group was ousted from power, said: "People will need no reminding that the Labour Government, of which John Denham is a member, slashed the funding for the 101 number leaving the burden to fall on the local tax payer."

The Home Office, which set up the 101 number with £5m, pulled its funding in February to instead spend the cash on the war on terror. The number received up to 600 calls a day.