October 22, 2020 5.11 pm This story is over 41 months old

Scunthorpe man jailed for punching paramedic

He was intoxicated and aggressive
Luke Wilson was jailed for 12 months. | Photo: Humberside Police

A 29-year-old man from Scunthorpe who was aggressive towards two paramedics and punched one of them, has been sentenced to a year in jail.

An ambulance was called to a children’s play area in Scunthorpe on Wednesday, August 12 after a group of concerned children spotted Luke Wilson, of West Street in Scunthorpe, lying down there.

Wilson became aggressive after the two paramedics arrived at the scene and helped him to get up onto his feet. The two emergency workers backed away from Wilson as he started to swing his arms towards them and shout abuse.

He also punched one of the paramedics in the wrist when they tried to use their radio to request back-up.

Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of assault of an emergency worker at Grimsby Magistrates Court on October 8.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a bladed article in a public area and he was also ordered to pay a £156 surcharge.

The East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) spoke publicly about the incident on October 22.

EMAS Paramedic Kevin Martin was responding with his colleague from Scunthorpe Ambulance Station.

He said: “When we arrived at the scene we could tell that the man was conscious and breathing but it looked like he was intoxicated so we proceeded with caution.

“I am glad that these young children who phoned for an ambulance had decided not to approach this man, as I dread to think how he would have behaved given the way he reacted to us.

“When we returned to the ambulance I pushed the ‘red button’ which sends out an alert to all my colleagues in the area that we were in distress and needed immediate help.

“We could not continue to respond to other patients who may have needed us while we were dealing with this patient’s violent behaviour and then because we needed to help the police with their enquiries.

“I have worked for the ambulance service for just under 30 years and this is the second time I have experienced a serious assault like this in only a matter of months.”

A few months prior to this incident another patient had pulled out a machete on Kevin and threatened him.

Kelvin Langford, Local Security Management Specialist at EMAS, said that assaults on their staff are “absolutely unacceptable” and EMAS “take a zero-tolerance approach towards anyone who verbally or physically assaults them”.