Time-wasters with sore throats, coughs and sprained ankles are pushing the ambulance service to crisis point.
Freezing conditions have resulted in hundreds of pensioners with life-threatening breathing conditions needing emergency help.
But East Midlands Ambulance Service has been struggling to reach them because paramedics are tied up dealing with people who do not need to go to hospital.
Since Christmas Day, the service has been called out 11,712 times – answering 3,000 calls a day on average – but only half of these patients needed to go to A&E for treatment.
At one point on Saturday afternoon, 100 people were left waiting for treatment because there were no medics to send to them.
"The pressure on the service is immense," said Mike Parker, emergency operations centre manager for EMAS.
"We've seen pretty much a 25 per cent increase in calls in the last three or four days. That is huge.
"I was on call all weekend and we were absolutely inundated. There were no vehicles to send because they were all tied up on other jobs."
Call-handlers at the EMAS operations centre in Nuthall are having to answer up to nine calls every minute just to keep up with demand and health chiefs are urging patients not to dial 999 unless it's a genuine emergency.
Mr Parker said: "It's a huge strain for us at the moment. Unless vitally life-threatening, I suggest you make your own way to hospital if you need to go. You can also use out-of-hours services."
He said that a 30-year-old man rang the service because he had "hurt his finger" and another person called on Boxing Day to say they had banged their thigh three days ago.
People have also called with colds, sore throats and twisted ankles, while elsewhere across the East Midlands, one caller phoned when their cat died and another when the door fell off their fridge.
These come at a time when 965 people have rung 999 with life-threatening breathing difficulties since Christmas Day.
EMAS normally responds to around 2,000 calls a day and expects about 3,200 on New Year's Day.
Peter Holden, chairman of the British Medical Association in the East Midlands, said: "I am afraid the public has got to wake up.
"There is a degree of stupidity out there – like with the drunks who waste a lot of time or the people who aren't willing to treat themselves. It's becoming ridiculous. People cannot seem to manage a cough or vomit without calling 999."
Nottingham's hospitals were also stretched to the limit as GP surgeries closed for four days over the Christmas break.
Last week, 639 patients had to wait more than four hours to be seen, treated, admitted or discharged at the Queen's Medical Centre's A&E department – more than twice the national average.
In addition, 121 people had to wait on trolleys for between four and 12 hours at the hospital.
A spokesman for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Our hospitals have been extremely busy in the post-Christmas period.
"We need people to help us care for our most seriously ill patients.
"You can do this by choosing the right place for your care.
"If you feel ill, you can visit the walk-in centres on London Road or Upper Parliament Street. Alternatively, if you are not sure which service to use or think you need to see your GP urgently, then call 111 – which is open 24/7. A&E is for genuine emergencies only."
