Hospital staff in Manchester have been inundated with bruised and boozy women from Take That concerts.

Tens of thousands of ladies in their 30s and 40s attended the pop band’s series of shows at the City of Manchester stadium, ending on Sunday.

And such was the level of drinking – and falling over – it led to a spike in numbers attending the A&E department at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI).

One steward reportedly said some women at the stadium, the home of Manchester City FC, behaved worse than football fans. Female fans of the former boyband with tickets for the standing area had arrived hours early to get a position at the front near the stage for a better view of Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow and the rest of the group.

But the time waiting for Take That to begin their gig was then spent drinking by many. By the end of the concert, thousands of “legless” ladies were unleashed on to the streets of Manchester. Pubs around the ground had complied with a police request not to sell alcohol to concert-goers.

But alcohol, including £18 full-size plastic bottles of Chardonnay wine, were on sale inside the ground.