Steep rise in ambulance callouts

Ambulance crews in the north-east of England dealt with more than 500 extra emergency calls in the 24 hours to noon on New Year's Day.

The North East Ambulance Service Trust said crews responded to 2,303 calls, compared to 1,796 in the previous year.

Trust officials said they were disappointed that the public had not heeded calls to seek treatment for minor injuries elsewhere.

However, the trust said crews had coped with the additional demand.

Minor incidents

Paul Liversidge, director of ambulance operations, said: "This has been an extremely busy year, a big increase on past years.

"With such a huge volume of calls there has been an immense amount of pressure on our staff, but they have worked extremely hard to ensure we have responded to all of these incidents.

"Despite previous pleas, it has been extremely frustrating that we continue to receive calls for minor incidents which need some form of help, but not necessarily a paramedic ambulance which is equipped to respond to life-threatening cases."

The trust covers Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and parts of Teesside.