Stafford man fined after assaulting ambulance staff

Joshua Mason, 21, from Stafford, was fined £185, ordered to pay £200 in compensation and £100 in costs after pleading guilty to three counts of assault by beating.

The assaults took place when West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the junction of Wildwood Drive and Chepstow Drive on July 26, 2014. All three members of staff were initially treated at the scene, though one did receive follow-up hospital care the following day.

Emergency care assistant, Christopher Shirley, said: "I am pleased to see that both the ambulance service and police have taken such a strong stance regarding this matter.

"It is extremely disappointing to suffer physical abuse when we are trying to help members of the public with medical emergencies.

"I would encourage all of my colleagues within the ambulance service to report any cases of physical or verbal abuse that they are subjected to as it is entirely unacceptable."

Steve Elliker, West Midlands Ambulance Service's head of security and safety, reacting to the sentence which was imposed on March 4, said: "The Trust welcomes the sentence that has been passed on this occasion, it is completely unacceptable that ambulance staff, who are responding to help people who have serious medical conditions or injuries, should have to face violence and verbal abuse.

"The Trust has a zero tolerance policy in place and works extremely hard to bring the full weight of the law to bear on anyone who attacks our staff. It is simply not acceptable that staff who are there to help people, suffer at the hands of patients, their relatives or other people at the scene. Any type of assault against our staff will not be tolerated."

Trust chief executive, Anthony Marsh, said: "I will not tolerate any attack or abuse on staff and we will always pursue attackers and push for the toughest possible sentence. Please ensure that you report any such incidents so that we can take action."