DRUNKEN people enjoying the summer sunshine in East Lancashire have led to a huge increase in hospital admissions, accident and emergency bosses have revealed.

Cases, including people falling from trees, getting into fights, and mowing the lawn in open-toed sandals, have seen patient numbers at Royal Blackburn Hospital and local urgent care centres rocket in the recent heatwave.

Dr Charles Thomson, a consultant in emergency medicine at Royal Blackburn Hospital, said much of the increase in admissions was due to “totally avoidable” injuries.

And he said the problems meant that over-worked staff, already struggling to meet targets, were under ever-increasing pressure.

Dr Thomson said around 200 extra people per week had been reporting for emergency care across Blackburn and Burnley during the summer.

On Wednesday, between 6pm and 7pm, there were 37 people who reported to A&E, compared to a normal average of 10.

Dr Thomson said: “At the moment we are seeing quite a peak in the numbers of patients at our emergency department at the hospital and the urgent care centres in Blackburn and Burnley.

“There is a real issue with people going out in the sunshine and drinking too much.

"That then leads to accidents. The bulk of the additional work we are seeing at the moment is not dealing with the effects of the heat, or the sunshine, but those who have drunk too much.

“A lot of the injuries are really quite minor, but they do require attention and take up a lot of time for our staff.

“People make rash decisions when they have been drinking.

“We have seen many people in the past week or so where they have drunk 13, or 14 pints and then hurt themselves.

"Often they are people who have finished work early, or had the day off, and have got carried away.”

He said injuries have included broken bones after falls, and cuts and bruises after fights.

There have also been injuries caused by alcohol-related violence.

Dr Thomson said the emergency department normally deals with around 2,800 patients per week, although that number is currently over 3,000.

He said staff are able to deal with peaks in demand for the emergency department in the same way that there is a rise in admissions over winter months due to seasonal flu.

But he said: “Accidents do happen and, of course, we accept that, but alot of what we are seeing at the moment is so avoidable.

“We’ve even heard of someone having a few drinks and then mowing the lawn while wearing sandals and getting hurt.

"And every summer there are problems of people having too much too drink and then injuring themselves on the barbecue. “The message is that people should try not to overdo it.

"Dress appropriately, drink plenty of water and enjoy the summer.”