Ambulance worker assaulted by a patient in Telford

The assault was one of five on ambulance staff across the West Midlands at the weekend. Two ambulances were also vandalised.

It was in the early hours of Saturday morning when the patient that the crew was sent to help in Telford, hit out. There are no more details about the attack.

Other crew members were assaulted in Birmingham and Redditch.

One of the staff injured had been working at the Trust’s City Centre Treatment Unit in Birmingham when they were assaulted.

On Sunday night, two ambulances were vandalised while on separate 999 calls in Birmingham. The first incident took place in Yardley between 7.15pm and 8.10pm whilst the ambulance crew were inside a property treating a patient.

The crew returned to their ambulance to find that an egg had been thrown at their nearside wing mirror which required jet washing back at the ambulance hub to remove the sticky substance.

Smashed

Later the same night in Erdington, a crew were responded to a 999 call at around 11.30pm. When they returned to their vehicle at 1.30am, once they had treated the patient, they discovered that their windscreen had been smashed, making the vehicle unsafe to be used for the rest of the shift. The vehicle is now off the road awaiting repair.

Craig Cooke, the Trust’s Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer, said: “I simply do not know what goes through the minds of these horrible individuals.

"Not only have I had five staff assaulted whilst trying to do their job, two ambulances have had to be taken off the road meaning two less vehicles were available to respond to 999 calls.

“Thankfully, our on-board CCTV has captured some excellent footage which will be passed onto our police colleagues to assist with identifying and charging the culprits. I can only hope that the offenders are then handed generous sentences by the judicial system for their abhorrent crimes against a 999 service here to help people in their hour of need.”

Anyone with information can call police on 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org