Published: Tuesday, 3rd June, 2008 16:35
Fireman hit on head with brick
By Lorraine Tinney
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SCENE: Auchmead Road.
A GOUROCK firefighter was hit on the head with a brick in Larkfield on his way back from a call-out.
The 44-year-old crew commander, who hasn’t been named, was a passenger in a fire engine when a teenage thug lobbed the masonry through an open window.
He suffered bruising to the left side of his face, but didn’t need hospital treatment.
The teenage culprit raced towards the cab in Auchmead Road and hurled the brick before running off just after 10pm.
Iain Scott, secretary of the Greenock branch of the Fire Brigade Union, says there are a growing number of attacks. He said: “It has been on the increase for the last five years.
“We go through phases of such attacks in Inverclyde — it’s obviously worrying. It can be quiet for a while then there’s a spate of several incidents in one month.
“You can get two or three incidents in one shift, bricks thrown at you twice a night. We get dog’s abuse for trying to do our jobs.”
Mr Scott added: “We’re here to help people and then we get stones and bricks thrown at us. It’s a sign of the times.
“I cannot imagine why someone would want to attack a fireman.”
He dismissed suggestions of no-go areas or the need for police escorts that were once used to protect crews when they went into some housing schemes.
He said: “I don’t think there would ever be a time when there would be no-go areas in Inverclyde.”
Sergeant Andy Wilkinson, of Greenock police, said: “The boy is around 15 years of age and was wearing a white and light-blue hooded top.
“We are keen for anyone with information to come forward.”
Witnesses should call Greenock police on 492500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Man, 23, fighting for life
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