Demand for help from the ambulance service in the East over the bank holiday weekend rose by more than 1,000 calls above average.

More than 8,000 calls were received by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) over the long weekend, with falls the main reason for people calling.

Of those, 994 were received from Suffolk and 2,548 from Essex with 1,222 received from Norfolk.

A spokesperson for EEAST said: “Our call figures remained about average on Friday, but we did see a significant increase on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

“This equated to more than 200 calls being taken per day, compared to the average daily demand of about 2,300.”

There were 1,522 calls made about falls patients, 212 regarding road traffic collisions, 116 for heart problems, and 857 calls for people with general sickness.

The service also responded to several horse riding accidents, as well as injuries caused by people using the break as a chance to do some DIY.

At the same weekend last year, 7,732 emergency calls were received.