Man jailed for assaulting emergency worker who was treating them in Southampton

A man has been jailed for assaulting a St John Ambulance volunteer who was treating them on a night out in Southampton.

At around 2am on Saturday, 29 October, St John Ambulance were treating Harry White in East Park for a medical episode.

The 21-year-old, of no fixed address, woke up and punched one of the volunteers, a man in his 30s, in the side of his head.

He then left the ambulance and punched the vehicle twice.

Officers on patrol in the city centre saw him doing this and after a short pursuit during which he resisted arrest he was detained.

White appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court yesterday (31 October) where he pleaded guilty to assault by beating of an emergency worker and was sentenced to four weeks in prison.

Inspector Charlie Ilderton, of the Southampton Central Neighbourhoods Policing Team, said: “Assaulting an emergency worker– particularly when they are trying to help you – is totally unacceptable.

“St John Ambulance is one of our key partners for keeping people safe in our clubs, bars and other venues at the weekends and their staff work incredibly hard in sometimes difficult conditions.

“I hope this result shows that we will take all reports of assault seriously and will take swift and decisive action to make sure those responsible face justice.”

Craig Harman, Director of Health and Volunteering Operations at St John Ambulance said:

"It is completely unacceptable for our volunteers to experience any form of physical abuse or violence.

"They give so much of their time helping to care for our communities and should never, in any circumstance, have to fear being attacked while helping others.

"While the majority of our patients, and members of public, do not behave in this way, we are committed to working with the police to support our people and take a zero-tolerance approach to anyone behaving badly towards them.

"We're very proud of the care our volunteers provide the Southampton community, and we are working closely with the team to support them and their safety."