The chief executive of Norfolk's biggest hospital said its Accident and Emergency department was coping, despite its busiest weekend of the year.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital received a record number of A&E attendances on Sunday with more than 340 people arriving at the Colney site for emergency treatment.

Anna Dugdale, chief executive, told a council of governors today that 138 ambulances attended the hospital on Monday, compared with the 120 on Easter Monday when an emergency tent had to be erected outside the hospital.

However, only one patient had to wait more than an hour in an ambulance at the front doors of the hospital in July as a result of work to reduce turnaround delays.

'It was a really challenging weekend, but everyone rose to the challenge,' she said.

Weekend A&E staff had to cope with the consequences of a train collision at Norwich Railway Station in the early hours of Sunday, which resulted in eight people suffering minor injuries.

Mrs Dugdale added that electrical problems at the weekend had resulted in the fire alarms going off, which caused disruption.