17 August 2009
The London Ambulance Service is calling for greater respect
for staff after a Battersea ambulance crew was attacked on Edgware
Road.
Emergency Medical Technician Tina Cox and
Paramedic Graham Adams were responding to an emergency call at just
after 9 pm on Saturday 8 August when a bottle was thrown at their
ambulance.
“We were on blue lights on the way to a call
and we heard an explosion. The next thing we were covered in glass
– it was everywhere,” said Tina.
An empty bottle had smashed through Tina’s
passenger side window showering her and Graham in shards of broken
glass, and leaving them with cuts and bruises.
Tina – who’s been with the Service for 15
years – said: “Thankfully I was looking the other way, away from
where the bottle smashed through the window, otherwise I could’ve
been seriously hurt.”
Unable to continue to their original
destination, the crew were forced to pull over and call for
back-up.
Graham – who’s also been in the Service for 15
years – said: “It’s disgusting behaviour really, there’s no place
for it. The London Ambulance Service is here to help people,
there’s just no excuse.
“It was pretty frightening and at first we
didn’t know what had happened. Looking back we were very lucky – we
could’ve crashed, injuring ourselves and members of the public, or
come out of it with serious cuts from flying glass.”
Assistant Director of Operations Paul Woodrow said: “We were
shocked to hear about this incident; violence against our staff is
totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“It is a very sad situation when those who are providing a
valuable service to Londoners are attacked by people from the very
community they serve. Our staff should be able to do their
job without the fear of attack or intimidation.
“We are doing all we can to support Tina and Graham and help to
pursue a prosecution.”
After their ordeal, Tina and Graham were back
at work the following night.
Police have said that the suspect is described
as being a man of 30 years old, black and about 5ft 10” tall with
shoulder-length hair. Anyone with information regarding the
incident should contact Westminster CID on 020 7321 8510.
- Ends -
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