ANYONE who abuses ambulance staff could find themselves banned from every pub in the North West, under a bold new plan to protect paramedics.

It is hoped the Stop Abuse campaign, in conjunction with Pubwatch schemes across the region, will slash the 234 physical attacks per year against ambulance staff, without having to take offenders to court.

In Cumbria and Lancashire alone, there were 13 assaults from April to October this year, but paramedics said they endured verbal abuse and intimidation almost every weekend - and the incidents were nearly always drink-related.

The new initiative is the first of its kind in the country. Ambulance staff can report a person’s behaviour to the Pubwatch landlords, who can then decide, with police, to ban them from every pub in the area.

Pubwatch across the UK already bans those who cause trouble in licensed premises.

Dave Daly, of the national group, said: “If someone has been reported and banned, the message will be passed on to every pub in the region. It will be absolute zero tolerance.

“We thank the ambulance service for bringing their problems to our attention, and we are delighted to be part of the campaign.”

Ian Jones, 55, who has worked as an ambulance technician for 33 years, said aggression against staff was on the increase.

He said: “I attended an incident three months ago where a man was lying in someone’s front garden. He had been drinking solidly for two days and when we tried to get near him, he was shouting abuse and lashing out.

“The job should have taken us a matter of minutes, but because he was so inebriated it took us nearly an hour to wait for police and manhandle him in and out of the ambulance. That incident meant we had to delay an ambulance setting off to someone who was having a heart attack.

“That man was well known to police, and there was little point in pressing charges because no-one had been physically injured. I’m sure banning that man from the pubs will have a much greater effect on him than any court appearance.”

Phil Coope, a chief inspector with Lancashire Police, said he hoped the move would also add to reductions in violent incidents in town centres across the region.