999 attacks are soaring

ONE in five ambulance staff have taken sick leave because of violent assaults at work, a union found.

They have been bitten, stabbed and had blood spat at them in attacks that have risen by more than a third in four years.

Sex attacks have soared by 211% in five years.

Kevin Brandstatter, of the GMB said: “As lone working becomes more common and cuts bite, ambulance workers are increasingly vulnerable.”