Road workers spat at, assaulted and abused at work

Cambridgeshire County Council is calling for more respect for its workers

Highway officers have been spat at, assaulted and had a bottle thrown at them while working, according to a council.

There have been 29 instances of threatening behaviour and four assaults on staff in Cambridgeshire since November 2024.

"Teams on the ground have unfortunately had some horrific experiences, from being threatened with violence to being driven at," Cambridgeshire County Council said.

The Liberal Democrat-led authority backed the national Stamp It Out campaign to highlight the issue.

It hoped the campaign would encourage people to show more respect for highway workers.

A multi-million pound upgrade of Milton Road in Cambridge was cited as one of the worst locations for worker abuse.

Another incident, reported in east Cambridgeshire, involved an officer being assaulted and their hair pulled.

In south Cambridgeshire, it was said that a woman drove at a member of staff and rammed her vehicle into barriers.

County councillor Alex Beckett said the abuse was "unacceptable"

Workers have started to wear bodycams in an effort to combat the behaviour.

One said: "We are human beings like everyone else, trying to earn a living.

"We're asking people to consider how they would feel if they were in a similar situation in their workplace and someone started verbally abusing or being violent towards them."

Research by Stamp It Out found 50% of people in public-facing roles were subjected to weekly abuse.

However, only 80% actually reported it.

Alex Beckett, chairman of the county council's highways and transport committee, urged people to engage with staff in a respectful way.

He said the abuse they were facing was "unacceptable".

"The safety of our highway crews always comes first, and any threatening behaviour shown towards them will not be tolerated," he added.