Ambulance crews in call out rise

Ambulance crews in the north-east of England dealt with a sharp increase in the number of 999 calls over the new year period.

The North East Ambulance Service Trust received 2,396 calls in the 24 hours to noon on New Year's Day - 583 more than last year.

Operations director Paul Liversidge said ice and snow over the period made the job of crews "much harder".

He added many of the call outs were for alcohol-related incidents.

"All of our staff are very dedicated and worked extremely hard despite the dreadful weather conditions which made their job much harder," Mr Liversidge said.