THEY are not quite up to Torvill and Dean standards but most skaters in Ipswich have managed to stay on their feet and avoid injury over the festive period.

THEY are not quite up to Torvill and Dean standards but most skaters in Ipswich have managed to stay on their feet and avoid injury over the festive period.

A temporary rink was constructed in Portman Road close to the football ground and thousands of people took a twirl on the ice.

The rink opened on December 3 and was open until January 8.

Ambulance crews were called to the rink four times during that period.

A spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Trust said ambulance officers had been called to a 13-year-old with a back injury after a fall, to a 37-year-old man with a leg injury, to a four-year-old with a head injury and to a 55-year-old man who had fallen.

All of them were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Ipswich Hospital's accident and emergency department also saw small numbers of people coming in with injuries from the rink.

Jan Rowsell, spokeswoman for Ipswich Hospital, said: “The numbers of people coming in to us with injuries from the ice rink have been quite small.

“They were mostly adults and were all relatively minor injuries.”

Richard Nolan, general manager for Merlin Events, who were responsible for running the rink, said: “The accident rate has been below average.

“We've calculated that around 0.01 per cent of skaters have had to receive medical treatment, either from us or paramedics.

“We had stewards out on the ice and a team of medical staff that were on hand all the time to deal with things.”

Mr Nolan said around 16,000 people visited the rink over the Christmas period and that he was hopeful it would be returning to Ipswich next year.

He said: “We'd like to come back and do a bigger rink with a few surprises. We are meeting with the council next week to talk about our plans.”