AMBULANCE staff faced a barrage of 999 calls after the final whistle as some football fans struggled to come to terms with England losing to Croatia.

Calls to West Midlands Ambulance Service rose by 15 per cent compared to the same time the previous week - with more than 1,100 calls received between 9.30pm and 4.30am.

“Almost immediately after the final whistle, the phone lines lit up," said Nathan Hudson, assistant chief ambulance officer.

“We were called to over 40 reports of assaults in the aftermath of the match.

"We also dealt with a number of serious road traffic collisions and other drink related incidents, with people falling over and drink-fuelled cases of bravado leading to injuries.

"Sadly, we also saw a number of cases of domestic violence."

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He continued: “The high levels of demand continued through until around 4.30am before returning to levels that we would normally have expected to see.

“The trust had put in place an extensive plan to deal with the evening, with a large number of additional crews, managers and doctors on shift.

"The planning paid dividends with the trust able to cope with the significant rise in demand exceptionally well.

"I would like to thank all of the staff who came in on days off to assist us.”