YORKSHIRE Ambulance Service is urging people to only call in "life-threatening" situations today.

A post on social media site Twitter this afternoon said: "We are extremely busy this afternoon.

"Please only call us in a life-threatening situation.

"Please think about the best care that you need, when you need it."

Nick Smith, Executive Director of Operations "We are asking members of the public to only call us in a serious or life-threatening emergency to help us focus our efforts on our most poorly patients.

"We are currently experiencing extremely high demand and this is having a severe impact on our operations. We are implementing a number of actions in order to protect our core services for patients and respond to the ongoing demand.

"Our dedicated staff are working extremely hard to reach patients as quickly and safely as possible."

Emergency Medical Dispatcher Elliott Carter wrote: "We are CRITICALLY BUSY at present.

"Please do only call us for immediate life saving help.

"Do consider, if safe to do so - making your own way to the Emergency Department.

"This enables us to send our ambulances to people who desperately need them."

Tom Charlesworth, an Emergency Care Assistant, wrote: "Yorkshire Ambulance Service is critically busy with demand at the moment.

"Please consider alternatives to calling 999. If not immediately life threatening your call may be diverted to a more appropriate service provider."