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# Lichfield and Burntwood people urged to stay safe during celebrations
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/lichfield-and-burntwood-people-urged-to-stay-safe-during-celebrations/
- Published: 2013-12-31T10:30:54.000Z
- Updated: 2013-12-30T19:15:00.000Z
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 20:48, News

People in Lichfield and Burntwood are being urged to enjoy their New Year’s Eve celebrations – but stay safe at the same time.

West Midlands Ambulance Service is gearing up for one of the busiest nights of the year, with demand for ambulances usually doubling at this time of year.

During the last few hours of 2012, 638 calls to 999 were received from 8pm to midnight. After the New Year arrived, an average of five calls were received every 60 seconds.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “While the vast majority of people in the Region will be out celebrating, our staff will be working flat out.

“We will have dozens of additional staff working overnight staffing additional ambulances and rapid response vehicles.

“The last thing we want to do is to stop people having a good time and welcoming in the New Year in fine style but our experience of previous Hogmanay celebrations means that we will be expecting to see many preventable injuries.

“Sadly, because our staff are dealing with these, they aren’t available to get to the truly life threatening calls as quickly as they might have been able to which ultimately puts the lives of other people at risk.”

People are also being warned to treat staff with respect should they need their attention.

“As well as being busy, ambulance crews find themselves on the receiving end of anti-social behaviour from patients and the public who are often the worse for wear from drink or drugs,” the spokesperson added. Please treat our staff as you would want to be treated yourself.

“Sadly, if this year is like the last few, we will have staff who will experience people shouting abuse at them. Others will be kicked and punched and even spat at by patients and their friends and family.

“Make no mistake, wherever possible, we will press charges and work tirelessly to make people account for their despicable actions in the courts. Our staff are there to help people in their hour of need; please allow them to do so without fear or violence.”