Eleven paramedics attacked at bonfires on eve of Twelfth

One of the attacks happened in the vicinity of a bonfire in Ballymacash in Lisburn

Attacks on 11 paramedics on the night of 11 July and early hours of 12 July have been condemned by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

The assaults occurred at four locations - three of them bonfire sites - in a six-hour period from late on Tuesday into the early hours of Wednesday.

The most serious incident occurred at a bonfire in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, involving five ambulance staff.

One person was arrested in connection with another incident in Lisburn.

It happened in the Ballymacash area, with other staff assaulted in the Forthriver area of Belfast and in Belfast city centre, said the ambulance service.

During the Carrickfergus attack, staff were punched, kicked, bitten, spat at and had threats made on their lives.

A student paramedic was among those assaulted in the incident.

Eleventh night bonfires present a high volume of calls for emergency services, NIAS said

Bonfires are traditionally lit in some unionist areas on 11 July to kick off the Twelfth celebrations.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service chief executive Michael Bloomfield said: "We would normally have in the region of 11 or 12 staff assaulted per week, which is of course in itself appalling - there were 652 assaults on staff last year.

"But for there to be so many in such a small space of time is obviously of great concern.

"It's not for me to speculate on what causes people to behave in that way - it is a small minority - but when they do the impact on staff and on our service is very significant."

He told BBC News NI that the staff affected had been given the opportunity to stand down from duty.

"But it says a lot about them that most of them were able to carry on and were determined to carry on for the rest of their shift because there were people that night, as there are every night and every day, who need our assistance," he said.

Michael Bloomfield says many of those assaulted were determined to continue working

Mr Bloomfield said it was concerning that a student had been one of those assaulted, adding: "I'm sure that that causes them to worry about the career that they're embarking on."

He called on the support of community leaders to "stress the unacceptability of such assaults".

"We will support our staff over the next days and weeks, being aware that the physical injuries will be quickest to heal," said Mr Bloomfield.

"The mental distress will likely remain with them for some time to come."

'Attackers should be ashamed'

Sinn Féin assembly member Linda Dillon described the attacks as disgraceful, adding that there should be a "zero-tolerance approach" to those assaulting ambulance staff.

"Everyone should be able to turn up for work and to do their job free from threats, violence and intimidation," she said.

Ambulance service staff were attacked at this bonfire site at Forthriver in Belfast

Paula Bradshaw of the Alliance Party said: "It is horrifying that hard-working, front-line healthcare staff are attacked while trying to provide care and treatment in extremely difficult circumstances."

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said while communities had "celebrated both the Eleventh and Twelfth in the spirit that it was intended" there were people "who have completely undermined those celebrations".

"The placing of flags and effigies on bonfires, the assault of ambulance staff and the burning of a car belonging to a paediatric nurse and former election candidate for Aontú have shown the very worst in some people," he said.

"In these cases it is clear a criminal offence has been committed but it has also damaged the image of the Twelfth and unionist culture, history and identity."

SDLP assembly member Colin McGrath said paramedics were "worthy of the utmost support and respect".

"Anyone who seeks to harm people working to save lives in our community should face severe consequences," he added.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has not given details of the arrests made in relation to the attacks on paramedics.

But it said there was one arrest directly related to Twelfth of July parades and another seven people were arrested "during the course of the day in the vicinity of, or after, parades".