AMBULANCE crews were called to a cinema after film fans fainted with fright at gruesome scenes in a horror film. Horrific scenes of torture and mutilation in Saw III caused two men and one woman, all in their early 20s, to pass out at Cineworld on Stevena

AMBULANCE crews were called to a cinema after film fans fainted with fright at gruesome scenes in a horror film.

Horrific scenes of torture and mutilation in Saw III caused two men and one woman, all in their early 20s, to pass out at Cineworld on Stevenage Leisure Park on Friday.

Staff had to call the emergency services three times in one night to attend to the sickened viewers.

Ambulance crews treated the two men at the scene but the woman had to be taken to Lister Hospital for further treatment, and was later discharged.

A spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Trust said: "We treated people for fainting and shock-related matters. It was a genuine job as we had collapsed people at the scene."

He added: "It did not stretch our resources at all."

A spokesman for Cineworld said: "There isn't anything we would like to add."

The film is the latest in the hit series detailing the murderous exploits of a serial killer devoted to devising shocking torture techniques.

In one scene a blood-soaked man stands with chains piercing his arms, back and jaw. His only option of escape is to tear away his own flesh.

Released in the UK on Friday, the film topped both the UK and North American box offices at the weekend.