CALLS to the emergency services soared over the Halloween weekend, making it as busy as the traditionally demanding New Year’s Eve.

Stuck contact lenses, Halloween costumes on fire and broken fingers were just some of the calls received by North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), with one person calling after they started choking on a pair of plastic vampire fangs.

Each year, ambulance and fire crews see a rise in calls on Halloween or “Mischief Night” but this year saw NWAS receive an increase of 13%  compared to the previous weekend and an increase of 20% for life-threatening calls.

More than 4,000 calls were received reporting what were deemed as life-threatening or potentially life-threatening and some of these may well have struggled to get through as those with non-urgent cases also rang 999.

Derek Cartwright, director of operations at NWAS, said: “Our crews were kept extremely busy dealing with cut hands, head injuries, assault injuries and those who had simply too much alcohol. This ties up our resources for those who urgently need us and unfortunately, there were genuine cases this weekend where people had to wait longer than we would have liked for an ambulance response.

“While we do prioritise resources according to clinical need, we do still have a duty of care to those with head injuries or who are unresponsive regardless as to the reason why but many of these situations can be avoided if people took greater care of themselves and each other.”

While NWAS doesn’t want people to stop having fun, Mr Cartwright said it’s important that people realise they only have a finite number of resources.

He said: “To have phone lines tied up for minor avoidable incidents is frustrating for staff and also puts those people with serious conditions at risk. We are fast approaching the Christmas party season and would like the public to celebrate the festive seasons responsibly and without injury.”

Meanwhile, fire crews were called out to 38 deliberately-set blazes between October 30 and Halloween, with 11 of them in Wirral.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service watch manager Ian Mullen said: “People are advised that deliberately setting fires is arson. We work with Merseyside Police to identify those responsible and if caught they will be prosecuted.

“If a fire appliance is called out to a deliberate fire it may delay the response to another emergency. Bonfires and wheelie bin fires can easily get out of control, causing a danger to people.

“People are urged not to supply young people with wood or combustible materials that could be used to build bonfires in the run up to Bonfire Night.

 “Residents are also urged to only put their wheelie bins out on the day of collection and to bring them in straight after. Wheelie bins should be stored away from windows and doors.

"Where possible bins should be locked away.”