THE north west is the worst region in the country for attacks on firefighters, according to a report.

Research carried out for the Fire Brigades Union using the Freedom of Information Act reveal there were 462 attacks in the region in 2006/07.

The union claims there are 40 attacks a week in Britain on fire and rescue crews.

It says under-reporting could mean the true figure is much higher than the 2,000 attacks recorded last year in Britain and the union says official government figures are inaccurate.

Attacks recorded by fire authorities in England and Wales are four times the official figures issued by Whitehall.

The government says attacks in the two countries have fallen by 68 per cent from 1,300 in 2005/06 to 400 in 2006/07.

But figures obtained by researchers for the union direct from fire services show attacks rose from 1,300 to 1,504 - an increase of 15 per cent.

The union today accused the government of neglecting the issue and called for a detailed and Whitehall-funded strategy to significantly reduce attacks.

The report found that some fire services - including Greater Manchester - have well-developed policies for tackling violence.

Locally, all incidents are logged and fire engines are fitted with CCTV cameras to film any incidents. Crews also received training from police in how to diffuse hostile situations.

But other services don't and crews who are assaulted and injured are treated the same way as any other sickness absence.

FBU regional secretary for the north west, Kevin Brown, said: "These figures alone should be cause for concern, but we know incidents of intimidation, threats, and abuse are simply not reported.

Abused

"It is almost beyond belief that fire crews are attacked and abused while fighting fires and trying to save lives.

"Yet in some areas, attacking fire crews has become a recreational activity with very serious consequences.

"Most attacks are in areas characterised by poor housing, poverty and few or no facilities for young people."

In Greater Manchester, the number of recorded attacks fell from 259 in 2005/06 to 240 last year.

In Lancashire, they increased from 26 to 38 and in Cumbria from one to 10.

Cheshire saw a fall from 36 to 29 and Merseyside a reduction from 189 to 145.

Overall in the north west, attacks fell from 511 to 462.

Scotland's official figures show that in 2005/06 there were 324 attacks which reduced to 316 last year.

These figures correspond closely to those obtained by the union - a fall from 329 to 309.

The report for the union was conducted by the Labour Research Department.

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