POLICE and ambulance crews will arrive together to deal with incidents in the Highland capital over one of the busiest weekends of the festive period for revellers.

Officers and paramedics have arrived separately to calls from members of the public such as people falling over due to drinking too much in Inverness. But, in a new joint initative on key nights over the Christmas and New Year period, when the city is crowded with people out celebrating the occasion, an ambulance patrol car will be on duty in the area staffed by a specialist paramedic and a police officer.

It aims to provide a fast and efficient joint response to incidents on key nights over the festive period.

The car and its crew will be on duty from 7pm until 4am on selected nights and will patrol within an approximate 30-mile radius around Inverness and began last night, and will run on Friday, December 22, and at Hogmanay.