Gone are the days when uniform got respect it deserves

The increase in assaults on police is alarming but, sadly, not surprising. As casual violence on our streets has escalated over the years, it’s little wonder the police have become victims too. The unprovoked attack on PC Ashley Mcmahan – an exemplary officer with 14 years service – is just another example.

He had stopped to pose for a picture with tourists when he heard abuse being hurled at him and turned round to be punched hard in the jaw.

Of course, it never used to be like that – in the same way that attacks on paramedics and nurses were unheard of, but are now all too frequent.

Gone are the days when the uniform commanded the respect it still deserves.

There will always be the odd rogue copper who brings the force into disrepute, but the simple fact is that the vast majority of policemen and women are there to protect us and catch criminals.

They deal with some pretty unpleasant people that, frankly, most of us would rather have nothing to do with.

You only have to watch one of those fly-on-the-wall police documentaries to appreciate that.

Their job in recent years has not been made any easier with increasing pressures from all sides and dwindling numbers on the streets.

Anyone assaulting a public servant doing his job deserves to have the book thrown at them with the stiffest possible sentence.

It’s the only deterrent left.