Paramedic assault figures condemned

A total of 69 paramedics in the county have been assaulted, while firefighters have been targeted by missiles, verbal abuse, and violence on 17 occasions in the last year.

The ‘extremely frightening’ attacks have been widely condemned – with a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach now being taken with offenders.

A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “It’s absolutely abhorrent that our staff, who work day in, day out to help others, often find themselves subject to such vile and disgusting behaviour by members of the public.

“They are only human and extremely frightening incidents are bound to have lasting effects. We do all we can to support our staff by offering support both physically and mentally.

“Any form of violence or aggression against our staff will not be tolerated, and we will always push for prosecutions.”

Chief fire officer at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Chris Kenny, added: “We use a number of approaches to tackle the problem, ranging from the use of the law to prosecute offenders and provide a deterrent, to community liaison to get across that such behaviour can endanger not just firefighters but others too if their response to emergencies is compromised.”

Lancashire Police were asked to supply figures for attacks on officers but could not provide them.