PARAMEDICS and casualty staff are bracing themselves for another huge surge of patients after England's World Cup clash with Ecuador today.

The number of 999 calls for ambulances more than doubled in the aftermath of England's three previous games and the accident and emergency department at Southampton General Hospital has been flooded with people with injuries.

Causes included drunken accidents, domestic abuse and alcohol aggravated assault, as well as burns from World Cup barbecues.

Health workers are urging people not to get too carried away and endanger themselves during and after the World Cup clash.

Diana Hulbert, a consultant at the city's accident and emergency department, said attendance was on the rise after all World Cup matches but was particularly notable after England matches.

During the matches themselves, attendance has been slightly lower but in the two hours after the match the department has been seeing a huge rise in alcohol-related attendance.

"We are seeing a range of people from simple accidents caused by having a bit too much to drink, to alcohol aggravated assault, and there seems to be a trend of domestic abuse rising after the matches as well," she said.

"The message from us is simple. We all like watching the World Cup and we're always happy for people to have a drink but if people could try and drink sensibly we would be grateful.

"We still have people coming in with heart attacks, pneumonia, chest pains and other serious health problems entirely unrelated to the World Cup and we see 93,000 patients a year.

"It can be very disruptive to the wards when we have a large amount of patients who are under the influence of alcohol.

"We're not saying don't have fun but we would urge people to drink in moderation and please don't hit anybody after the match."

A spokesman for Hampshire Ambulance Service added: "On an average Saturday we would expect to receive 169 emergency calls between 5pm and midnight however on Saturday, June 9 we received 374, an increase of 121 per cent.

"With similar factors expected on Sunday for England's game against Ecuador we are anticipating a similar rise in activity."