The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) control room received more than 11,700 emergency calls over the busy Easter period.

As thousands enjoyed four days away from work, ambulance staff and volunteers were out responding to more than 8,500 incidents in the region.

Saturday saw the Ambulance Trust’s busiest day of the Easter weekend, with more than 3,000 emergency calls received, a slight drop on last year’s 3,200.

A total of 2,826 calls were received on Good Friday and 2,801 on Easter Monday.

But overall it was quieter last year, the Trust responding to 8,513 incidents over the four days compared to 9,188 in 2016.

The Trust received 1,446 emergency calls from Suffolk and 3,794 for Essex.

Robert Morton, EEAST chief executive, praised the staff for their dedication.

He said: “My thanks to all of my colleagues and our volunteers for their continual hard work during another busy bank holiday weekend.

“We still continue to remind the public to consider alternate pathways such as 111, walk-in centres, GPs, and pharmacists if the call is not a genuine medical emergency.”