Rise in attacks on firefighters

Up to 40 attacks every week are being carried out against firefighters, the Fire Brigades Union said today.

Bricks, bottles and missiles were regularly thrown at crews, while fires had been set deliberately to lure firefighters into ambushes.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) called for a national strategy to combat the increasing number of assaults.

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist said it was "only a question of time before a firefighter is killed". The union said there were 2,000 attacks over the year but added that the figure could be three times as high because of under-reporting of such incidents.

In England and Wales, in the nine-month period to the end of January 2005, 18 out of 50 brigades, reported a total of 393 attacks.