In June 2003, ambulance crews in the east of England responded to 35,145 emergency calls, but by last month that number had risen by more than 10,000 to 46,090, figures released by the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS) reveal today.

The steep rise, ambulance chiefs say, is largely due to more people calling an ambulance for minor health problems, such as toothache, earache or pulled muscles.

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Although the majority of people use the service for real emergencies, including heart attacks, chest pains and deep wounds, a number of people are abusing the system to get treatment for their pulled muscles and earaches.

Chief locality officer for the EEAS Rob Lawrence said that while the number of people with serious problems had risen in line with an increasing and ageing population, the more significant rise was in people with more minor problems.

He said: "We are seeing more and more people calling 999 who could get more appropriate treatment elsewhere in the NHS.

"Were there really 10,000 more people in need of an emergency ambulance last month than in the June of five years ago?

"We don't for one moment want to put off people with genuine emergencies from calling us, but with calls seemingly on a never-ending upward curve, we need people to think about whether they really need an ambulance before making the call.

"This is particularly relevant over the summer, when the number of calls peak during the hotter weather.

"Our crews and responders are striving to meet the most challenging ambulance response times in the world, and we need the public on our side to help us reach those most in need of our help as quickly as possible."

Typical calls taken by EEAS operators that were not emergencies in the last year were concerning toothache, earache, pulled muscles and sore throats.

However, Mr Lawrence said people should never hesitate to call 999 or visit the accident and emergency department if they were suffering from a suspected heart attack, chest pains, heavy blood loss, suspected broken bones, deep wounds or head injuries or had difficulty breathing.

Extra investment in the EEAS from the primary care trusts, which commission the service across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, has seen average response times slashed from eight minutes and 42 seconds in March to seven minutes and 28 seconds last month.

Mr Lawrence added: "Last month, almost half of our patients did not need to be taken to hospital, indicating there is much scope for people to use other parts of the NHS for more minor problems."

There are a number of options available if patients cannot treat themselves, including calling NHS Direct on 0845 4647, or the local GP out-of-hours service, which can be obtained by calling your local GP surgery number.

NHS walk-in centres, pharmacies and local minor injuries units can also help.