People are being urged to call 999 in life-threatening or serious emergencies only, as South Central Ambulance Service deals with “extremely high” demand during the heatwave.

Bosses predict the volume of 999 calls for SCAS will remain above average for the next 10 days while the warm weather continues.

An SCAS spokesman said: “We are aware that a number of patients who will have contacted us concerning less serious illnesses and injuries may have been waiting for longer than we would anticipate as we prioritise our available staff and vehicles to attend more serious, life-threatening emergencies.

“We would like to apologise to any patient who has experienced a delay in our attendance.

“We are anticipating that there will be delays reaching some patients over the next few days, and to reduce these delays, we are increasing the number of ambulances we have available to respond to patients over this busy period.

“We would ask patients to, where possible, make their own way to a hospital, minor injuries unit or other treatment centre.

“Where this is not possible, please do bear with us if we are unable to get to you as quickly as we would like.

“If you are uncertain if you require an ambulance, then please call our NHS 111 service who will assess your condition and advise you of the most appropriate action required, which may include sending an ambulance.

“We would like to thank our staff who continue to deliver the best possible patient care during these extreme conditions and high demand for our services.”