East Midlands ambulance calls rise due to hot weather

Calls to the East Midlands Ambulance Service rose by nearly 25% over the weekend due to the hot weather, the trust has revealed.

Much of the increase was due to breathing problems and chest pains brought about by the sudden high temperatures across the region.

Sunday was the busiest day for ambulance crews with an increase of 23% compared to the same day last year.

Paramedics dealt with 1,976 emergencies between Friday and Sunday.

'Genuine emergency'

Director of operations, Diane Lee, said: "As we enter the summer months we are not expecting demand to ease - our service is always busy and people always need our help.

"Whilst we don't want to dissuade anyone from calling for help if they need it, we would like to remind everyone to only dial 999 in a genuine emergency.

"Our priority is to help patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries as quickly as possible."

The service covers Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.