AMBULANCE crews across Dorset are asking the public to only call if they are in a 'genuine, life-threatening emergency' after the service declared a critical incident.

The warning comes as the pressure ramps up on ambulance services during the bank holiday weekend.

A spokesman from the South Western Ambulance Service said: "We have declared a critical incident due to extreme pressures on our service.

"As a result, some patients may wait longer for an ambulance while others could be advised to access alternative services if their call is not life-threatening.

"We need you to only call 999 in a genuine, life-threatening emergency so we can help those most in need."

The service responded to an average of 2,913 incidents a day last week, compared with 2,816 incidents a day between April 12 and May 16.

On Saturday the trust responded to nearly 3,200 incidents – the highest level of activity in 2021 – and was predicting similar numbers on Sunday.

The trust normally deals with around 2,650 emergency incidents a day.