THE number of paramedics who have been assaulted while answering 999 calls in Essex has more than doubled in the past year.

Ambulance crews reported 24 assaults, up from 11 the year before.

Of the six counties covered by the East of England Ambulance Service, Essex was joint highest with Hertfordshire.

A total of 95 assaults were reported across the whole area, an increase from 84 cases in the 2007-08 financial year.

Managers said their staff face the threat of being assaulted physically and verbally and the rise in assaults is “completely unacceptable”.

Neil Storey, interim associate director of A&E services for the service, said: “The ability of our staff to work safely and unhindered is paramount, and we consider any violence against them to be completely unacceptable.

“We encourage staff to report every instance of aggression they encounter in the line of duty, so appropriate action can be taken against anyone who has attacked them.”

Mr Storey said all staff were trained to undertake a risk assessment of every situation they attend.

He added: “The vast majority of people are supportive of the ambulance service, but unfortunately there are still those few people who obstruct our staff as they try to go about their work helping people around the region.

“We would ask those individuals to think through the potentially tragic consequences of their actions before they assault an ambulance crew.”

Cambridgeshire was second in the table of assaults with 15. Bedfordshire was lowest with just six reported incidents. Norfolk and Suffolk both had 13 assaults.