A PARAMEDIC has spoken of his fear at coming under a barrage of abuse from an aggressive and drunk Colindale man while on duty in Hendon.
Following the conviction of his attacker, London Ambulance Service emergency medical technician Ian Maitland admitted the incident back in May scared the life out of him.
The 52-year-old, who has been with the service almost 20 years, was parked in Edgware Road, when John Ireland began to threaten and verbally abuse him.
Mr Maitland said: “All of a sudden I was aware of someone trying to get in the passenger door.
“Thankfully, the door was locked but he began hammering on the window.
“He had such an angry face, was shouting and swearing at me and began kicking the back door.”
The ambulance man radioed police and drove off to escape. He was able to flag down a passing police car and officers went back to the scene to arrest Ireland.
He was charged with a public order offence Barnet police and earlier this month was found guilty at Hendon Magistrates Court.
Ireland, 41, of Fryent Grove, was ordered to pay £250 in costs and fines and given 100 hours' community service. He must also take a 22-day programme for behavioural management.
Mr Maitland said the attack made him feel “very, very vulnerable”.
He added: “It scared the life out of me.
“I’m okay now, but I’m always very cautious and I keep the doors on my vehicle locked permanently. It’s a wake-up call really and I’m pleased that the man was found guilty.”
Ambulance operations manager Kevin Brown said: “Thankfully Ian has recovered well after, but it could have been a lot worse.
“We welcome the guilty verdict and want to send a strong message out that any sort of verbal or physical attacks on our staff will not be tolerated.”
Superintendent Neil Seabridge, of Barnet Police, said it is never acceptable to use or threaten to use violence on emergency service staff who work out in the public.
“The work of the emergency services to ensure peoples safety and quickly provide the emergency treatment they need is vital,” he said.
“This drunk man's behaviour on this night potentially disrupted the quality service and he has been rightly punished for his actions."
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