It’s supposed to be a day of festive fun for the family.

But dozens of people are ending up in A&E each Christmas Day after accidents in the home or while out celebrating.

Doctors at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary deal with more than 100 patients on December 25 every year and are gearing up for a busy time this week.

A record of incidents over the past five years shows some of the unfortunate accidents suffered by residents while they were enjoying their presents or preparing Christmas dinner.

Last year a one-year-old girl was admitted after swallowing a toy coin. She was given advice and sent home by doctors.

The figures show careless cooking could be to blame for many incidents with several people attending for cuts to their hands.

In 2009 a 51-year-old man was treated for a nasty scald on his stomach.

Some nasty incidents have also sadly occurred on Christmas Day in recent years, including the death of a 17-year-old boy, a two-year-old who was bitten by a rat, a number of cardiac arrests and a one-year-old boy who was treated for a dog bite to the face.

But the database of Christmas incidents also shows that many people attending A&E are sent home with no treatment at all after medics deemed their complaints were not serious enough for attention by emergency department doctors and nurses.

People attending inappropriately over the past five years include a 27-year-old man who had the hiccups, a 22-year-old man who had a sore big toe, and a 24-year-old woman who had earache.

Of the 688 Christmas day attendances at HRI A&E since 2009, 113 – almost one in six – went home without any treatment or medication.

A&E consultant, Mark Davies, of Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, said: “Christmas Day is always a very busy time for us and to ensure that our staff can care for those who urgently need our care we would always ask people to try and avoid coming in if at all possible.

“We would always recommend that people should make sure they have enough repeat prescriptions to last over the holiday period and also remind people they can also dial 111, as even though GP surgeries are closed, there will still be an on-call service.”

Advice on how to deal with injuries and illnesses can be found at www.nhs.uk or ring the non-emergency helpline by dialling 111.