SOUTH East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is urging the public to use the 999 service wisely over the coming days.

Over the Christmas period calls to 999 and 111 control centres increased significantly with Boxing Day being one of our busiest days so far this year.

The Trust saw nearly a third more emergency calls to its 999 control centres compared to the same day last year (2,063 in 2012 and 2,744 in 2013).

Steve Carpenter, Contingency, Planning and Resilience Manager, said: “It has been extremely busy and staff have worked very hard, through some challenging conditions. "Many roads, particularly in Kent and Surrey, have been impassable. “This has made it very difficult getting to some patients as quickly as we would like.

"But we’ve had some great support from members of the public and also our specialist HART (Hazardous area response team) colleagues.”

“However, with concerns for further flooding in parts of Surrey and Kent today, we would urge the public to think very carefully about whether they need our service.

"We would also urge people to consider and check on elderly and vulnerable neighbours. We would also advise people to avoid taking unnecessary risks driving through flood water.”