New Year in Britain - Booze and Blood

On New Year's Eve, alcohol-fueled British people take it to the streets and have all the fun -- or, maybe not.

Violence scarred celebrations and led to a bloody New Year across the country as emergency services endured a chaotic end to 2008.

Ambulance control centres reported receiving 999 calls as often as once every seven seconds - the second highest volume of calls since the Millennium - as binge drinkers turned nasty in the freezing temperatures.

Many of the calls related either to alcohol-fuelled assaults or excessive drunkenness.

"Booze Buses" were brought in to treat people at the scenes of fights and allow ambulances to be free for more serious injuries. Ultimately, the streets of major party districts were littered with the still-staggering and the already-passed-out. All the while, emergency personnel were hampered by freezing temperatures.

Check the link for some graphic photos.

To be fair, though, Britain is not the only place where celebrants get drunk and violent. I'd suggest that drunkenness and alcohol-fueled violence happen in many locations worldwide and more often than reported.

Tip: slwlion