West Midlands Ambulance Service calls rise over Easter

Calls to the West Midlands Ambulance Service over the Easter holiday weekend rose by 10%, the trust said.

The service received 12,346 calls over the four days of Easter compared to 11,269 at Easter 2010.

The service covers Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Birmingham and the Black Country.

A spokesman from the trust said one reason for the increase could be the warm weather.

'Busy time'

He said Easter 2010 was earlier in the year so the weather was cooler, meaning less people were out and about.

"The Easter holiday period proved a busy time for the ambulance service," he said.

"Bank Holiday Monday appears to have been the quieter day of the four day break with the weekend generally seeing the increase in activity."

He added the service was now gearing up for the royal wedding and May Day bank holiday weekend.

He said the service still received a number of calls for minor incidents and urged people to only contact them if it was a genuine emergency that required an ambulance.