Around 2,800 of the 999 calls received by Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) last December were alcohol-related, according to figures just released.

The highest number of calls believed to involve alcohol during that month were received on Christmas Eve which reached 155.

December 2016 also saw a 16% increase in the number of calls where the chief complaint was assault or unconscious/passing out – 4,405 calls compared to 3,810 calls in November 2017, although these were not all necessarily alcohol-related.

The news comes as ambulance bosses issue an appeal to revellers to think about the impact of alcohol-related calls on other ill and injured patients across the county.

Stephen Segasby, Deputy Director of Operations at YAS, said: “While our ambulance crews are responding to patients who have simply had too much to drink or have sustained alcohol-related injuries which could have been avoided, they are not available to respond to life-threatening emergencies.”

Traditionally, YAS sees a significant increase in the number of 999 calls on the last Friday before Christmas, which has become known as ‘Mad Friday’.

But with Christmas Day falling on a Monday this year there is the added potential for two Fridays (15th and 22nd) to become ‘Mad Friday’.