Attacks on crews continue to rise

Attacks on ambulance crews in the East of England have continued to rise over the past four years, new figures show.

Hertfordshire and Essex were the worst affected in 2008-2009, with 24 staff in each county reporting an assault.

Ninety-five assaults were reported in total, according to figures published by the NHS Security Management Service.

Neil Storey from East of England Ambulance said: "The ability of our staff to work safely is paramount and violence against them is unacceptable."

Ambulance crew assaults 2008/2009 Essex & Herts: 24 Cambridgeshire: 15 Norfolk & Suffolk: 13 Bedfordshire: 6

The figure for 2007-08 was 84, which was up on the previous two years.

Mr Storey added: "Unfortunately there are still those few people who obstruct our staff as they try to go about their work."

He added: "We would ask those individuals to think through the potentially tragic consequences of their actions before they assault an ambulance crew."

The East of England Ambulance Service covers Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.