While most of us were unwrapping presents or tucking into a hearty meal over Christmas, paramedics were kept busy attending emergency calls in St Albans.

According to statistics released today (Friday) by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), of the 467 emergency calls made across Herts on Christmas Day, over 70 were from St Albans district.

More than 2,700 emergency calls were made on Christmas Day to the trust, which covers six counties – over about 7,500 square miles.

Residents in Herts made the second highest number of 999 calls on Wednesday (25) after Essex, with 874 calls, as compared to Suffolk which had 313.

Rob Ashford, acting director of service delivery, said it was encouraging to find there had been a slight decrease in the number of calls compared to the same period last year.

He said, however, there had been a “hike” of about 300 calls compared to an average day.

Calls ranged from chest pain, illness and falls to choking, assaults and births.

A breakdown of incidents across the region showed that falls brought the highest number of calls (1,124) followed by chest pain (497) and stroke (201).

Rob said the EEAST would “continue to be under pressure over the weekend and into next week, with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day typically being our busiest days of the year.”