YORKSHIRE Ambulance Service has warned that it was already receiving extremely high volumes of calls before snow and ice arrived in many areas last night, ramping up the pressure by causing slips, falls and road accidents.

Bosses urged people only to call 999 for an ambulance in an absolute emergency, if it was obvious someone had a serious or life-threatening illness or injury.

They said the region’s NHS 111 urgent care telephone service, which is run by the ambulance service, was also experiencing very high demand and they urged people to be patient while waiting for the phone to be answered and for call-backs from clinicians.

Dr David Macklin, Executive Director of Operations, said: “We don’t want to deter people from calling 999 in serious cases such as heart attack, breathing difficulties or stroke for example and please be reassured that we are focusing our efforts on reaching patients with life-threatening illnesses and serious injuries as a priority.

“Our staff are working extremely hard to get to people who call upon us for help as quickly and as safely as possible but, understandably, hazardous driving conditions may mean that it takes us a little longer than normal to reach patients in the worst-hit areas."