BOLTON'S over-stretched ambulance service was pushed to the limit last night as paramedics dealt with hundreds of 999 calls.

Bosses at Greater Manchester Ambulance Service confirmed this morning they had taken more than 800 emergency calls since midnight.

It compares with 757 calls taken by the service in the first six hours of 1998, which last year represented a record number of New Year's Eve emergencies.

Ambulance chiefs had put in place a number of emergency measures to try to reduce the stress placed on resources this year.

They included special "field hospitals" which were set up in towns and cities around the region where people could be treated for minor injuries.

Passenger Transport Service vehicles were also used to deal with transfers and casualties with lesser injuries.

Casualties

And, as reported in the BEN last night, two Bolton Mountain Rescue teams also took to the streets, to offer first aid help to emergency casualties and ease the strain on paramedics.

Six volunteers from the team - all trained first aiders - worked from 10pm to just before 6am, in a shift which saw them called to emergencies in Bolton and Hindley.

Both teams also provided emergency cover at Victoria Square, Bolton, for revellers who had gathered as the New Year approached.

Paul Jorgensen, vehicles officer with the Rescue Team, said: "It was a tiring night but quite a reasonable one.

"We dealt with about half a dozen or so minor incidents including sprained ankles and cuts and lacerations where people had fallen onto glass.

"Considering this is the first time we have done this we feel it has gone very well and we would put that down to some good planning."

The teams are due to meet ambulance bosses next week, for a debriefing session on the success of the Mountain Rescue support.

On the whole it was a peaceful New Year's Eve in Bolton. A police spokesman said: "The night passed off without any major incidents and there were only a handful of arrests for minor offences."

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