Directory
Numbers worth having before you need them
A single page of the services that answer at three in the morning, sorted by the problem rather than by the organisation. Nothing here is affiliated with us, and nothing here pays to be listed.
In an emergency, call 999. Fire, crime in progress, serious injury, someone unresponsive, or an animal or child shut in a car. Everything else on this page is for when it is urgent but not that.
Emergency
Life at risk, crime in progress, fire, or serious injury. Free from any phone, including one with no credit or no SIM.
Police, fire, ambulance, coastguard
24 hours
999
112 also works and reaches the same operators. If you cannot speak, call 999 and then press 55 when prompted.
Emergency text relay (deaf, hard of hearing, speech difficulty)
24 hours
You must register your phone in advance. Do it today, not on the night.
Gas leak or carbon monoxide
24 hours
0800 111 999
National Gas Emergency Service. Leave the building, do not use switches, call from outside.
Power cut
24 hours
105
Free, connects you to your local electricity network operator.
Health, out of hours
Urgent but not life-threatening. Using these instead of A&E is faster for you and better for everyone else.
NHS 111
24 hours
Clinical advice, urgent prescriptions, and directions to whatever is open. Free. Also available online.
Find a pharmacy open now
Live listing
The most current source there is. See our 24-hour pharmacy guide.
Find an urgent treatment centre
Live listing
For sprains, minor burns, cuts and infections. Shorter waits than A&E.
Dental pain out of hours
24 hours
111
There is no walk-in emergency dentistry. 111 is the route in.
Mental health and crisis support
All of these are free, confidential, and answered through the night.
Samaritans
24 hours, every day
Free from any phone. You do not have to be suicidal to call, and you do not have to explain yourself.
Shout crisis text line
24 hours
For anyone who would rather text than talk.
NHS mental health crisis line
24 hours
111, then select the mental health option
Connects to your local NHS crisis team.
Childline
24 hours
For anyone under 19. Free, and it does not appear on the phone bill.
Papyrus HOPELINE (under 35)
Check current hours
Suicide prevention advice for young people and those worried about them.
Safety at home
If you are in immediate danger, call 999 first. These are for advice, refuge and the day after.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline
24 hours
Run by Refuge. Free, confidential, and can arrange emergency accommodation.
Men's Advice Line
Check current hours
For men experiencing domestic abuse.
Galop (LGBT+ anti-abuse)
Check current hours
Shelter emergency housing helpline
Check current hours
Homelessness, eviction, and being locked out by a landlord.
StreetLink (someone sleeping rough)
Any time
Connects a rough sleeper you have seen with local outreach services.
Crime, fraud and consumer problems
Not urgent enough for 999, but you still want it on record.
Police non-emergency
24 hours
Report a crime already over, or ask for advice. Reporting online is often faster.
Crimestoppers (anonymous)
24 hours
Genuinely anonymous. They do not trace calls or take your name.
Action Fraud
Check current hours
Fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Citizens Advice consumer helpline
Business hours
Overcharged by a trader, faulty goods, disputed invoices. They pass reports to Trading Standards.
Victim Support
24 hours
Free, confidential, and available whether or not you reported the crime.
Report suspected terrorism
24 hours
In an emergency, always 999.
Transport and getting home
The operators themselves, not a third party guessing on their behalf.
TfL live status
Live
Check this before relying on any night service.
TfL lost property
Any time
For anything left on a bus, Tube or licensed taxi.
National Rail enquiries
Live
For anything beyond the TfL network, including airport rail links.
Check a taxi or minicab is licensed
Any time
Only black cabs may be flagged in the street. A minicab must be booked.
Utilities and the home
Water pouring through the ceiling at 2am is a different kind of emergency.
Gas emergency
24 hours
0800 111 999
Power cut
24 hours
105
Water leak or burst main
24 hours
In most of London this is Thames Water. Find your supplier by postcode.
Flooding from rivers or heavy rain
24 hours
Locked out of your home
Any time
Locksmithing is unregulated in the UK. Our sister site explains what a lockout should cost and how to check a locksmith is genuine.
Animals
Including the case people most often face at night.
RSPCA cruelty and injured animals
24 hours
Animal shut in a hot car
24 hours
999
This is a police matter, not an RSPCA one. Do not wait.
Emergency vet
Any time
Most practices divert to an out-of-hours provider. The number is usually on their answerphone.
Numbers and opening hours change. This list is checked periodically, not continuously, and we are not any of these organisations. If a number here is out of date, the organisation's own website is always the authority. Where we were not certain a helpline still runs around the clock, we have written "check current hours" rather than guess.
See also: what is open right now ·finding a 24-hour pharmacy ·getting home after the last train