Pothole, fly tipping, broken street light, graffiti, dog mess, abandoned car

All of these are Dorset Council's. FixMyStreet sends your report, with a photo and a map pin, straight to the council and lets you see what others have already reported on your street.

A photo and the nearest house number or lamp post number gets it fixed faster.

Power cut

105 is the national number that connects you to the network operator for your area, which here is SSEN. Their Powertrack map shows cuts they already know about and when they expect the power back.

Check the neighbours' lights first. If it is only you, it may be your own fuse box.

Smell of gas

The National Gas emergency line, day and night. Open the windows, do not switch anything electrical on or off, and ring from outside.

Water leak, burst main, sewage or a blocked sewer

Wessex Water looks after the water and the sewers in Weymouth and Portland. They take leak and sewer reports on their website. We could not confirm their phone numbers on the day this page was checked, so the site is the route we can vouch for.

A leak inside your home, after the stop tap, is yours to fix: that is one for a plumber.

Pollution in a river, the harbour or the sea

The Environment Agency's incident hotline, 24 hours a day: oil, chemicals, dead fish, sewage in the water, anything that looks wrong.

Injured wildlife or animal cruelty

The RSPCA's national line. For a wild animal that is hurt, they will tell you whether to leave it, move it or bring it in.

Lost or stray dog

Dorset Council's dog warden service, through the council switchboard. They pick up strays and hold them while the owner is traced.

Crime that is not an emergency

Dorset Police on 101, or report online, which is often quicker for things like a theft you have discovered after the event or a nuisance vehicle. Crimestoppers takes information anonymously.

Noise, smoke or a smell from a neighbour or a business

Dorset Council environmental health, through the switchboard. Keep a note of dates and times before you ring: they will ask.

Missed bin

Report a missed collection to Dorset Council. Our bins page has the collection days and the link to the council's missed bin form.