IT' S the height of summer and for many Liverpudlians this means afternoons spent at the Whitlam Leisure Centre, backyard barbecues or evenings at pubs and clubs.

But for local paramedics, summer means drunks, fire hazards and heat exhaustion.

Paramedic Caroline Williamson spent New Year's Eve on the evening shift, and said that night, along with public holidays, were always ``pretty crazy''.

``It's very busy a lot of drunks. We expect no downtime,'' she said.

``It's amazing the amount of drunk underagers we treat, who drink to a point where they pass out. They have a decreased sense of safety and wellbeing.''

Miss Williamson said drugs were also a problem in the area, and came in peaks and troughs.

``You can tell when a good batch [of drugs] has come in: it gets busy for us,'' she said.

``It's quite frustrating going to treat people who, if they had used common sense, wouldn't be in that situation.''

Paramedics have also warned of the potential hazards backyard barbecues can create.

Paramedics say they are called to several barbecue-related accidents each summer, some resulting in very severe injuries.

``In one case, a young man put an accelerant on the barbecue which then splashed onto him,'' a spokeswoman said. ``He was set alight causing severe burns to his hands, leg and chest and spent months recovering from his injuries.''