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Some Ambulance services in England have been dealing with an unprecedented level of demand over the weekend, putting extreme strain on their services.

Steve Hynes, head of service for the Greater Manchester Area, told Today's James Naughtie: "Compared to last year we were a thousand calls up ...which put a significant strain on the ambulance service."

"We encourage the people who need an ambulance, for serious calls, to use the service."

"Other people need to wait or direct themselves to the A&E department or to the pharmacist, instead of accessing the ambulance service and having to wait a significant amount of time."

First broadcast Today programme 16 December 2014.