South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is urging people to "think twice" before calling 999 for an ambulance this Bank Holiday weekend.

The Trust experienced its busiest summer week of activity in three years between 10 and 16 August when it responded to almost 20,000 incidents.

It has dealt with around 75,500 incidents during the past four calendar weeks, an increase of 6.4% compared to the same period last year.

SWASFT is reminding people to call 999 only in a medical emergency when someone is seriously injured or ill and their life is at risk.

It advises people to contact NHS 111 by phone or online for less serious medical incidents.

The Trust warns that inappropriate use of the 999 service could delay help to patients most in need of emergency care.

A SWASFT spokesperson said: "The demand on our service has been going up and up since lockdown was eased at the start of July.

"Although demand reduced slightly last week, we faced very real challenges of dealing with an exceptional week during the heatwave earlier this month.

"To put that week into context, we have only had six other weeks in the past three years with those kinds of activity levels. All of those weeks were in the month of December when we traditionally receive high levels of activity associated with winter pressures.

"Please think twice before calling 999 this Bank Holiday weekend, and ask yourself: 'Is it a real emergency?'"

The service provides emergency and urgent care across an area of 10,000 square miles - covering Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire - which is 20% of mainland England and is predominately rural. That is around 5.5 million people, with an estimated annual influx of more than 23 million tourists.

People should always call 999 if someone has stopped breathing, has severe chest pain, is choking, may be having a stroke, has serious blood loss, or is unconscious.