Three firefighters injured during dozens of attacks on Northamptonshire crews during the last decade, figures show

Thugs attacked or verbally abused Northamptonshire firefighters dozens of times in just over a decade, shocking figures show.

At least 8,600 attacks have been recorded by fire brigades across England since 2010-11 and more than 500 firefighters have been injured as a result.

Home Office data shows crews from the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were at the centre of 65 of those incidents, with six attacks recorded by the fire service in the year to March.

The county's Chief Fire Officer condemned ‘unacceptable’ verbal abuse that crews received in Kettering during one incident after attending a hoax call in June this year, saying: "We will push for maximum punishments for anyone that attacks my firefighters.”

Nick Gayton, a station commander at Mereway Fire Station, attended the incident and added: “For fire crews to suffer both verbal abuse and having projectiles thrown at us is just not on. We are there to help people and this kind of behaviour stops us from doing that.”

Since recording began just over a decade ago, three Northamptonshire firefighters have been physically injured in attacks.

During that time, crews — many of them part-timers who are kept on stand-by to answer 999 calls — were subject to seven incidents of physical abuse, had objects thrown at them on nine occasions, had verbal abuse directed at them 37 times, experienced three episodes of harassment and dealt with at least nine other aggressive incidents.

Despite firefighters attending fewer incidents and fires during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, attacks increased nationally, with 934 recorded across England in 2020-21 compared to 899 the year before.

And the true figures could be higher, as those reported only reflect assaults experienced during operational incidents and do not take into consideration abuse that has taken place at or around fire stations or as crews are carrying out fire prevention work, for example.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "Any attack on firefighters – who are providing a humanitarian service – is something to be deplored.

"It is paramount that fire and rescue services provide appropriate support to firefighters who are subject to such attacks, including taking into account any mental health effects of these incidents, and being understanding when it comes to sick leave.”

Verbal abuse is the most common type of attack recorded nationally, accounting for 57 percent of incidents recorded by fire services since 2010-11.

Around a quarter of incidents involved objects being thrown at firefighters, while five percent were physical attacks.

Police chiefs have also vowed to use the full force of the law against those who attack emergency workers.

A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman said: “Last year, the maximum jail term for attacking emergency workers was doubled.

"This sent a clear message that society will not tolerate abuse of our emergency workers and we will use the full force of the law to prosecute anyone who uses violence against those who are on the front line.”