East of England Ambulance Service records busiest night in weeks as lockdown eased
The East of England Ambulance Service recorded its busiest night in weeks after pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen for the first time since March on Saturday.
The trust says at some points on Saturday and into Sunday morning, they received double the number of calls compared to the same period last month.
However, the number of alcohol-related calls weren't as high as feared.
Instead, there was a small increase in the number of assaults, and there was also a big jump in the number of calls from people in mental health distress.
Watch an interview with Marcus Bailey
"It was a busy night, particularly between nine and four this morning where some hours we saw a doubling of some of our activity, but I am pleased to say that it looks like alcohol-related incidents we were worried about were low," chief operating officer Marcus Bailey told ITV News Anglia.
"Look, this is the start. We would ask people just to be safe, to be respectful and to look after each other. Continue to follow the social-distancing. I think that's really important because we can see places where spread has happened and sometimes you don't see that effect straight away."