THINGS appeared to get extremely busy for a while this afternoon outside the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, as ambulances had to park where they could outside the emergency department.

Reader Chris Thomas, from Cwmbran, who took these photographs, told the Argus that he counted 17 ambulances queueing at one stage.

The situation appeared to be a temporary one however. Shortly after these photographs were taken, an Aneurin Bevan University Health Board spokesman said there were nine ambulances outside.

Most were back on the road inside half an hour, and the spokesman said that the system was coping despite the hospital being "exceptionally busy".