Ambulance staff and volunteers have been thanked for their hard work during a busy bank holiday weekend that saw more call-outs than last year.

Sandy Brown, director of nursing and clinical quality, said: “Whilst most people were enjoying a long weekend in the sun, our staff and volunteers were working hard to help patients across the East of England.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts.

“We continue to experience an increase in demand, but we coped well to provide the best possible care to patients.”

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) received more than 9,100 emergency calls during the long weekend – nine per cent more than the same weekend last year.

The busiest day was Saturday with 3,299 calls across the East. The Trust received 2,776 calls on Monday.

Community first responders attended almost 300 medical emergencies.

In Cambridgeshire there were 1,123 incidents compared to 1,095 in 2015.