Join Chronicle call for justice

WHEN you dial 999 you are relying on our emergency services to come to your aid in the most desperate times.

It is therefore sickening to think that selfish thugs could launch disgusting attacks on our heroes in their potentially lifesaving efforts.

The Chronicle and our website ChronicleLive has launched a campaign calling for a Government review over a lack of prison sentences handed out to those who attack our 999 workers.

Our campaign has already been backed by MPs and emergency services, including the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), which has reported 171 incidents of assaults on its staff to the police over the past three years.

Of those, 40 resulted in criminal convictions but none of the people behind the assaults was sentenced to time in prison.

The NEAS has called on the court system to impose the full powers available to it when it comes to sentencing defendants who have assaulted its staff.

In 2019, more than 11,000 people were prosecuted for assaulting an emergency worker, with a quarter of those found guilty receiving a suspended sentence or immediate custody.

Just one in six assaults on emergency staff have resulted in the attacker being put behind bars in the last 12 months since new tougher sentencing powers came into force.

We are demanding a full Government review into the sentencing of thugs who attack emergency services to get Justice for Heroes.

Find our Justice for Heroes petition on our website.