West Midlands New Year 999 ambulance calls rise by 15%

The number of 999 calls paramedics dealt with across the West Midlands in the last four hours of 2012 increased by 15% on the previous New Year's Eve.



West Midlands Ambulance Service dealt with 638 emergency calls between 20:00 GMT on Monday and 00:00 on Tuesday.

It then dealt with 1,291 calls between 01:00 and 04:00, a rise of 9% on the same period last year.

It said a large number of the incidents included fights, assaults, falls and people who had drunk too much alcohol.

The ambulance service said after midnight, the number of 999 calls amounted to an average of five every minute.

Chief executive Anthony Marsh said it came as "no surprise" that New Year's Eve had been one of the busiest nights of the year for the ambulance service.

He said preparing for it was " a year in the planning" and paid tribute to all the staff and volunteers who worked through the night to help.