FOOTBALL fans did their best to avoid A&E on Saturday night during England’s opening World Cup game against Italy.

Attendance figures for Warrington Hospital showed a drop in patient numbers between 11pm, when the game kicked off, and 2am with only 19 people heading to the department during those hours.

The hospital saw a surge in A&E attendees at 11am and 5pm on Sunday but a spokesman said this was common and not football-related.

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman said staff have been very busy in recent weeks due to the warm weather.

He added there were no significant incidents in Warrington around the England game but the number of 999 calls did drop once the match kicked off.