MORE people aged 20 to 29 visited Warrington Hospital’s A&E department in the last year than any other age group, according to latest figures.

The statistics published by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre found the age group made up for 16 per cent of attendances with 16,328 heading to the emergency department.

It is thought sports injuries, pregnancy-related problems, car accidents, difficulty getting a GP appointment and alcohol-related injuries are behind almost double the number of people in their 20s heading for A&E in Warrington compared to pensioners.

More than 102,000 people attended the town’s A&E department in the last year compared to 100,641 in 2011-12.

As reported in the Warrington Guardian last year, Monday at 11am remains the busiest time to head to the emergency department at Warrington Hospital.

More than five times the number of patients visited the department mid-morning compared to the early hours.

Fridays and Saturdays remained the two quietest days of the week but still meant more than 13,000 people passing through A&E doors on each day.

A Warrington CCG spokesman said: "We support the 'Choose Well' campaign which aims to raise awareness that A&E should be reserved for emergencies only, and that many injuries and illnesses can be treated with a well-stocked medicine cabinet.

"There is always extra pressure on A&E services throughout winter, so if you feel unwell, but your case is not an emergency, consider other ways you can get advice from your local NHS service.

"We want to support the people of Warrington to make the right choices and keep emergency services for those who really need it."