PARAMEDICS endured their busiest weekend ever – leaving ambulance chiefs urging people to only dial 999 in emergencies.

In Suffolk crews attended 705 calls from Friday to Sunday, compared to 636 the previous weekend (a ten per cent rise) and 617 on the same weekend (a 14pc rise) last year.

Director of emergency operations Neil Storey said: “We really hope these figures allow people to take stock of just how many incidents we’re called to, at a time when we’re managing resources as best we can to ensure the most seriously ill are attended first.

“Our call volume tends to increase during this time of year because people are out celebrating, might become ill, or be involved in an accident that could have been avoided.

“We obviously don’t want them to get into that situation in the first place, and for those who have just been sick or feel just a little worse for wear, they need to consider alternatives to automatically using 999.”