Fireworks thrown at ambulance in east Bristol

Police are trying to identify a group who threw fireworks at an ambulance while crew members were inside.

The vehicle was on Birchwood Road in Bristol when it was targeted by a large group wearing hoods and balaclavas.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said it would have been "catastrophic" if the fireworks had caused the ambulance's oxygen tanks to explode.

The incident happened at around 17:40 GMT on Sunday, 6 November.

The service has tweeted CCTV footage of the fireworks being thrown.

The ambulance had three crew members inside when the fireworks were launched at it

The crew inside the stationary ambulance said they heard an explosion nearby, before a firework hit the driver's side window and bounced off the bonnet.

Two cars then pulled up alongside the ambulance and approximately 20 people wearing hoods and balaclavas gathered on the other side of the road behind the ambulance, and the crew drove away and called 999.

SWASFT are appealing for the public to help them find the individuals responsible and said anyone with information should contact Avon and Somerset Police.

The ambulance was parked on Birchwood Road in east Bristol when it was targeted

Mike Jones, the trust's violence prevention and reduction lead says: "It's appalling that a small group of individuals would risk the lives of three colleagues who have dedicated their own lives to saving other people.

"We are incredibly lucky that one of the fireworks did not cause the oxygen tanks in the ambulance to explode, which would have been catastrophic."