Three men, who assaulted a paramedic in Castlederg last weekend during a "drunken rampage," have been told to "wise up" by a Sinn Fein Councillor for the Derg area.
The male ambulance worker from Derry was ambushed by three men, believed to be in their early twenties, as he manned the Old Hospital ambulance base in Castlederg at lunchtime on Sunday.
Castlederg Sinn Féin Councillor Charlie Mc Hugh said that th
e local community were “disgusted” when the news filtered through that the paramedic who was alone at the time, had been abused by the men for “no reason other than they were drunk”.
Colr. Mc Hugh said: “A tall hooded youth entered the building on Sunday afternoon and began to push the ambulance driver around. The attacker was then joined by two others who continued pushing the driver around, whilst issuing threats to him.”
Colr. McHugh said that ambulance personnel had encountered similar problems prior to Sunday’s incident.
“There are derelict buildings on the site beside the ambulance base that are being used as a drinking den at the weekend. Ambulance drivers have had problems in the past and the fear in Castlederg is that the ambulance service will be forced to pull out of the area if it is not safe for their crew. If this happens, I can tell you that this community will be very very angry because this is a vital service and we have had to fight to keep it open over the years. We won’t let these drunken youths put this in jeopardy.
“My message to them is to wise up and leave these people alone to do their job which is paramount to this community. These thugs are beneath contempt and if anyone has information as to their identities they should report it immediately,” he said.
It is understood that the ambulance driver did not sustain any serious physical injuries but he was left “badly shaken” by the ordeal.
The full article contains 333 words and appears in Journal Friday newspaper.
