Ambulance staff and volunteers have been praised for their commitment to quality care during another busy Bank Holiday weekend.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) received almost 13,000 emergency calls between May 26 and 29 - 10 per cent up on last year.

The trust’s busiest day was Saturday, which saw control room staff receive more than 3,300 calls regionally.

Essex was the busiest county in the region, receiving more than 3,700 calls over the four day period, up from 3,390 in 2016.

Kevin Brown, director of service delivery, said: “We continue to experience high levels of demand and this Bank Holiday weekend was no exception. We responded to some very challenging incidents for our staff.

“However in the face of this we had prepared and coped well, which is a testament to the hard work and commitment of all of our staff and volunteers across the region who I would like to thank for their extraordinary ongoing efforts.

“We continue to remind people to only call us in a genuine emergency and to consider the use of GPs, pharmacists, walk in centres, urgent care centres and other forms of self-help.”