Paramedic claims pressured A&E units 'not safe'

Accident and Emergency units are under so much pressure the service is not safe, a paramedic of 26 years has claimed.

It comes as major incidents have been declared at a number of hospitals in England as medical staff struggle to cope with patient numbers.

Stuart Gardner, who works for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said he "has never seen anything like it" and that he counted 18 patients on trolleys queuing in a corridor of Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

In Birmingham, Heartlands Hospital asked for volunteers who normally work in offices to help out on the wards.

BBC Midlands Today's Michele Paduano reports from Worcester and Birmingham.