REDDITCH town centre erupted on Friday afternoon as hundreds of footie fans celebrated England's historic 1-0 victory against arch-rivals Argentina.

Pubs were packed with World Cup revellers and for many hours afterwards, the shouts of "Come on England" could be heard on the streets.

Despite large groups of people in the town, police were not called to any incidents of disorder until later in the evening.

Acting Chief Insp Angela Burnet said: "There were obviously a lot of people out enjoying themselves on Friday and, following the football match, there were some reports of people being boisterous.

"But there were no reports of disorder until later in the evening."

She added: "There were a few fights reported to us from about 8.40pm onwards in the town centre and one man was arrested.

"We had an increased presence in the town on the night and worked closely with the CCTV operators and pub doormen.

"Any reports of disorder were very quickly dealt with and although there were reports of some groups fighting, these were dispersed."

Meanwhile, Redditch paramedics were so stretched on Friday night they had to draft in crews from across the county, it has been revealed.

Paramedic Frank Knight said it was busier than the Christmas or new year period and believed the football World Cup influenced the unusually high number of calls.

He said: "During the actual England game it went very quiet.

"But just after the game ended, it seemed the world went completely mad.

"I started my shift at 7pm and the calls didn't stop all night.

"I think the party mood continued into Saturday because the whole weekend was very busy.

"There were all sorts of incidents we had to deal with, including punch-ups, girls hyperventilating and people so drunk they could not stand up.

"A lot of the calls were drink-related.

"It was just like Christmas or new year all over again."

Mr Knight said most of the people they were called to attend did not require a visit to hospital but because the 999 emergency service had been called, they had to attend.

He added: "It was so busy, we had to summon help from Kidderminster and Worcester to cope with the workload.

"They were helping us out for several hours."

Meanwhile, crews were bracing themselves for a very busy day today as England took on Nigeria in the World Cup.

Mr Knight said yesterday: "I have no doubt for one minute it will be quite busy and it could depend on the outcome.

"If England win it people should remain good humoured but if they lose, it could be different."