The same household dialled 999 for an ambulance more than 5,700 times over the course of a year, shocking statistics have revealed.

Yet on only 24 occasions was it deemed necessary to actually send an emergency vehicle.

And of those, paramedics decided it was only serious enough for the patient to be taken to hospital on fewer than 10 occasions.

The figures have been revealed following a Freedom of Information request to the NHS which says its ambulance service is struggling to cope with overwhelming demand due to coronavirus.

The household in Ramsgate called for an ambulance on average 16 times a day.

According to official figures, it costs £155 to send an ambulance to an address and a further £250 to take a patient to hospital.

The story was first reported in the Sun newspaper, which requested the information and highlighted five of the worse cases.

They include Maidstone where the ambulance service has been call more than 1,700 times to the same address. It was only deemed necessary on 19 occasions and resulted in a patient actually being taken to hospital on 10 occasions.

Health bosses have warned 'frequent callers' are costing the already overstretched NHS around £20 million a year and could be placing the lives of genuine callers in danger.

But some NHS trusts stress the callers are often in need of social care services.

A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service said: "For the majority of these individuals it must be stressed that their calls are not vexatious.

"A number of them have challenging clinical presentations couple with complex personal and social vulnerabilities.

"We work with colleague across the health and care sector to ensure these patients receive the correct help and support they need."

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone