RARE as they are, attacks on North Wales Fire and Rescue Service staff will not be tolerated - a senior figure for the service has said.

Freedom of Information data obtained by the Leader shows the number of recorded assaults against firefighters in Wrexham and Flintshire each year from 2014 to date.

According to the data, there have been three in Flintshire and five in Wrexham during that period, which include a combination of verbal abuse and attacks against fire appliances.

The highest year for reports of assault against firefighters in both counties was 2015, with two incidents each.

Last month the Leader reported on the introduction of The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act.

It creates a new aggravated offence of an assault against a member of the emergency services and doubles the maximum sentence for these acts from six to 12 months.

When the new law came into effect Stuart Millington, senior operations manager for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are thankful in North Wales that incidents of this nature are rare when considering the number of calls we attend each year.

“However, we will not tolerate abuse or attacks directed towards our staff members.

“Staff members delivering both the Emergency response service and the Community Safety service are doing so to help and improve the communities which we serve and should not be subject to abuse of any nature whilst doing that.

“We have policies and procedures in place to protect our staff and working closely with colleagues in the Police, will as needed, prosecute persons treating our staff in this way.”