Seventh attack in 14 days against North East ambulance crews
The North East Ambulance Service has called upon the courts to "sentence these thugs appropriately" after their crews were assaulted for the third weekend in a row.
Ambulance crews in the North East have been assaulted and vehicles damaged to the point they are no longer able to respond to life-threatening emergencies, seven times in the last fourteen days.
The latest incident in a shocking wave of violence against the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) since lockdown restrictions were eased, occurred in the early hours of Saturday 25 July, on the A19 near Peterlee.
It follows three separate violent incidents aimed at ambulance crews, which left two staff hospitalised. The report from NEAS said drugs and alcohol appeared to be a significant factor in all three alleged assaults.
The latest attack involved a crew based in the Cleveland area, who were travelling back to base when they passed a man walking up the A19 dual carriageway in the opposite direction.
The double-crewed ambulance stopped, put on their blue lights to protect the man from oncoming traffic, and offered to take him to safety in the back of their vehicle. Once on the ambulance the man became aggressive, causing damage to the vehicle and physically assaulting the crew, punching one of them in the left side of his head with a clenched fist.
The crew moved away from the vehicle for their own safety. Police arrived on scene shortly after and arrested the man.
Mr Liversidge also said that CCTV footage from the back of the vehicle would be handed over to the police to prosecute the man for assault and criminal damage.
In a separate incident earlier on the same Saturday night in Consett, a young man who was unconscious from a drug overdose was revived and brought back to life by a paramedic crew. He also became aggressive and head-butted the side of the vehicle before walking off.