North Wales Police chief 'worried' by number of attacks on officers

Gareth Pritchard became North Wales Police's Acting Chief Constable last month

A police chief has said he is "worried" by a spate of assaults on officers and a review of the attacks is under way.

Last month, there were 41 assaults on North Wales Police officers.

Acting Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said a further seven attacks on officers took place over the Bank Holiday weekend.

He told BBC Radio Cymru: "We're worried about the number of assaults - one officer had his nose broken and another had his jaw broken."

A specialist group was being set up to "review these assaults in detail", with the findings to be reported to the Force Operations Committee, Mr Pritchard said.

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"An assault of any kind should never be considered part of the job," he added.

"These attacks leave their mark physically and mentally on the officers and in some cases their families.

"Some people also bite our officers and we think some of the criminals have contagious diseases, so the process of treating [officers] can be long and difficult."

The weekend attacks in north Wales were in Caernarfon, Bangor, Bala, Wrexham and Flintshire.

Mr Pritchard said the force had increased the number of Taser-trained officers to nearly 300 to improve safety.

The North Wales Police Federation has previously called for tougher sentences for people who attack officers, as well as better training and support for staff.

Earlier this year, South Wales Police's Chief Constable Matt Jukes said his officers were subjected to about nine assaults a week, including knife attacks.