North West Ambulance Service staff assaulted during busy night
Three members of staff were assaulted as the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) dealt with a call every seven seconds early on New Year's Day.
Paramedics were called to more than 2,000 incidents across the region between midnight and 06:00 GMT, the service said.
Shahid Ali from the NWAS said alcohol and fireworks were a common factor.
Mr Ali said staff dealt with about 30% more calls than they expected on the "busy night".
"In Skelmersdale we had a fight between 15 to 20 people and we had a male stabbed in the face in St Helens," he said.
Mr Ali also said a man was attacked with a meat cleaver in Preston.
During New Year celebrations at the start of 2013, the NWAS dealt with 2,353 calls between 18:00 and 06:00 GMT.