Time Tories rescued our life-savers

IT takes a special kind of person to work for emergency services. The hours are long and the pay is low. The job takes a toll on mental health and family life.

They witness first-hand some of the most terrifying sights. And they put their lives on the line to protect us, rescue us, save lives.

So it is all the more shocking when we learn assaults on them are soaring.

Attacks on paramedics have risen 36 per cent in the last five years. Last year almost 3,000 staff were hurt as they carried out their duties. These are people doing their best to save lives.

They are being assaulted, stabbed, choked, spat on, bitten, kicked and punched.

There are now 1,400 places in the UK not safe for paramedics to attend without police protection.

And the police are struggling as well. Brutal cuts have seen their numbers fall by 21,000. Almost every week, senior officers tell us the force is at breaking point.

It means many frontline ambulance staff have to work alone – without any backup.

There are all sorts of reasons behind the assaults on our emergency services. Booze and drugs, lack of court sentences and low resources are among them.

But perhaps the most important of all is the example the Government sets. It is time they started listening to the people on the front line.

Empty words and gestures are not enough. Our emergency services deserve the proper pay for doing their impossible jobs.

They deserve the right equipment and the proper staffing levels. They deserve protection from the mindless thugs who are attacking them.

Most of all they deserve what the Government are failing to give them: respect.