The long overdue hot summer weather has led to increasing numbers of people visiting Norfolk's hospitals either through heat exhaustion or accidents related to outdoor activities.

However, figures from the James Paget University Hospital and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital suggest heat exhaustion was a bigger factor during the first spell of hot weather at the start of July, rather than the high temperatures Norfolk experienced last weekend.

Jon Dack, a spokesman for the James Paget, said there had been 14 heat-related attendances so far in July compared to just one in July last year.

However, he said for the period from April to July there had been little increase compared to the same period last year.

He believed the reason for the increase this year was that the warm spell had arrived earlier last year.

A spokesman for the Norfolk and Norwich said three people had come into the hospital with heat exhaustion since the beginning of July, while the hospital had also dealt with more injuries related to outdoor activities, such as DIY and barbecues.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said 20 of the 4,864 calls the service received over the weekend across the east of England were for heat exhaustion, sun stroke or sunburn with nine people being taken to hospital.