AMBULANCE control room staff were kept busy over the festive break with more than 100 extra calls each day from over-indulgent revellers.

The Kent NHS Ambulance Trust call centre received 1,746 calls between December 24 and December 27 from residents across the county in need of help.

Christmas Eve proved to be the busiest day with almost 500 callers needing ambulance assistance for conditions including chest pains or alcohol-related illnesses.

General manager Steve Rose said: "We have had a high volume of calls in the past week. We only normally see about 360 on normal days. More people are moving about and indulging at parties but it's business as usual for us."