Emergency services swamped with wave of alcohol-related violence on New Year’s Eve

Thousands of 999 calls in first hours of 2019 as drunken violence increases burden on emergency crews

Police patrol outside a nightclub in Leeds on New Year’s Eve (SWNS)

Emergency services responded to thousands of calls across the country in a matter of hours on New Year’s Eve.

Police and ambulance crews endured their busiest night of the year on Monday as problems caused by excessive drinking piled additional work on top of routine calls.

Police arrested a 25-year-old man after a knife attack at Manchester Victoria station, which investigators are treating as terror related, during the most high-profile incident of the night.

Three people, including a British Transport Police officer, were stabbed during the attack, although none are thought to be in a life-threatening condition.

London Ambulance Service said it took close to 900 calls between midnight and 2am on New Year’s Day, including the fatal stabbing of a woman in Camberwell. A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

In central London, a man believed to be a security guard was also fatally stabbed.

Police in Essex dealt with another stabbing, this time just outside the capital in Epping, where a teenager was knifed in the stomach at a nightclub after a “verbal exchange” on the dance floor at around 1.20am.

A second teenager was left unconscious with several teeth missing after being attacked outside the same club two hours later. Both are expected to make a full recovery from their injuries.

Meanwhile, in Walsall, a 29-year-old man was arrested after a woman and her baby were attacked with a sword at a New Year’s Eve party.

West Midlands Police said the victim and her child had not been seriously hurt in the altercation, but were “badly shaken up and distressed”.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), which covers Kent, Surrey and Sussex, responded to more than 1,100 calls between 5pm on 31 December and 5am on 1 January.

The trust said the busy 12-hour period had come at the end of “days of increased demand” over the festive period.

“I’m extremely proud of everyone’s efforts last night and throughout the whole festive period,” SECAmb chief executive Daren Mochrie said.

“I would like to thank every member of staff and also our volunteers including our community first responders and chaplains for their commitment and professionalism at this busy time of year.”

North West Ambulance service had warned it would be dealing with similar problems as last New Year’s Eve: its crews saw a 50 per cent increase in emergency calls compared to a normal Saturday night and a 170 per cent increase in the number of calls to assaults.

Police Scotland said it had received close to 10,000 emergency calls between Christmas Day and the morning of New Year’s Eve.

Additional reporting by agencies