AMBULANCE chiefs today warned it is "only a matter of time" before a paramedic is killed" on duty.

As the number of attacks on East Lancashire ambulance crews "spiral out of control," bosses revealed that a paramedic is attacked every three days in the region.

It came as thug Stuart Brown was jailed for 16 months for biting a paramedic.

His victim said he would like to have seen a tougher sentence, and unions called for more prosecutions to be brought.

In the last year there were 104 reported violent attacks on Lancashire ambulance crews - but the number of incidents that go unreported is almost triple that figure, say crews, who are also routinely verbally abused while attending to patients.

Since 2000 the number of attacks have consistently topped 100 every year - double the amount of attacks less than a decade ago.

Paramedics are routinely kicked and punched and have urine, faeces and vomit thrown at them by patients. They have also been bitten, scratched or spat at by people claiming to be infected with HIV or hepatitis.

Frank Whiteford, deputy head of operations for the North West Ambulance Service, said a zero tolerance approach is needed. He said: "We go to every 999 call and we will still give 100 per cent, but one day one of our staff members will get killed.

"It will happen at some point if people don't think that they will have to face the full weight of the law for their actions.

"What is so difficult to comprehend is that we are responding to calls for help. We have been asked to attend by the very people who then attack us."

He said that out of 104 reported attacks only 10 per cent ended in a prosecution and only a couple resulted in a jail sentence. He said attacking ambulance crews "affects the community as it means the loss of cover and increased workload of other crews. Having staff off sick or injured puts increased pressure on budgets by diverting money from front-line services."

Bob Parkinson, joint chairman of joint unions for the ambulance service, said: "We would like to see more prosecutions. If there were tougher penalties people may think twice about attacking crews."

Ian Walmsley, Lancashire Ambulance Service East Lancs operations manager, welcomed the prison term.

He said: "A custodial sentence sends the message that it's not acceptable to attack emergency care workers."

Mick McTague, who was bitten in the attack, said: "The courts have got to do what they see fit, but I would have liked to have seen a longer sentence."