THE NHS has urged elderly people in Somerset to take extra care as cold weather sets in.

With the elderly and frail making up one of the largest demographics needing A&E facilities, NHS England has warned that proactive measures should be taken to prevent falling over in icy conditions.

The warning comes as health bosses try to alleviate the strain on the increasing number of UK hospitals declaring “major incidents”.

William Beckett, chief ex-ecutive of Hip Impact Prot-ection, said: “It’s clear from the number of hospitals that have declared major incidents that the British public has a crisis on its hands and we need to be more careful than ever to prevent unnecessary injury.

“For the elderly, for whom smaller accidents such as falling can have very serious consequences, it’s imperative that they’re taking protective measures at home and when walking outside, and that care homes and residential homes are doing the same.”