Body cams for 999 paramedics on the way?

A report by the West Midlands Ambulance Service revealed there were 57 assaults on staff in the Black Country and 35 in Staffordshire in the six months from April to September.

This compared to 89 in the Black Country and 29 in Staffordshire across the whole of the previous year.

In 2014/15, there were 70 assaults in the Black Country and 29 in Staffordshire.

It shows the number of attacks for the six-month period have risen to almost the level which had previously been seen in a whole year.

The figures also showed the attackers made no distinction between men and women.

In fact, in the Black Country more female staff were attacked than their male colleagues during the six-month period.

A total of 29 women were assaulted, one more than the number of men.

In October, an ambulance on a 999 call was targeted by yobs who hurled food at the windscreen from a West Bromwich bridge.

That came after two paramedics were allegedly threatened inside an ambulance in July as they responded to a call in Portobello, Willenhall.

Bosses have condemned the attacks on staff and following the 'concerning' rise in assaults are now looking into introducing cameras to capture evidence of incidents while on the job.

Chief said they were considering taking the step in a bid to tackle the worrying trend of attacks on paramedics and other staff.

The report said: "Following a review of the violence and aggression figures for the six-month period from April 1 to September 30, it is concerning that the number of incidents recorded have exceeded 200 for physical assaults on trust staff.

"Unfortunately, this continues with the ongoing trend of the last few years.

"We are currently researching the use of body-worn CCTV cameras and although there is little evidence from other ambulance trusts that they are considering utilising body-worn CCTV, a risk assessment is being completed."