A PARAMEDIC attacked a 13-year-old boy who dropped chewing gum on his car from a double decker school bus, a misconduct hearing was told.

Nigel Hamer was in traffic in Blackburn when the sweet landed on his vehicle from the top floor of a school bus.

He ran onto the bus and demanded to know who was responsible.

Hamer grabbed the boy by his chin and wrestled with him as his schoolmates looked on.

He was given a police caution at the time. Details have just emerged at a hearing of the Health Professions Council in which he admitted his fitness to practise was impaired.

Mary Page, for the HPC, said Hamer said: "The object was thrown from the bus and he thought it was heavy.

"He thought it was a book or a stone and thought damage might have been caused to his vehicle."

"He found the boy's attitude to be cocky. He approached him and grabbed his chin for one minute."

According to the boy, Hamer also held him by the cheeks and banged his head against the back window of a bus during the incident on March 18 last year.

But this was denied by the paramedic, who worked out of a Blackburn ambulance station.

"Some of the things in the young lad's statement were wrong,' he said.

"It's my statement to police which is the one I've accepted a caution on."

Hamer, of Southport, also disputed it was chewing gum which fell on his car.

"In the police statement it was a piece of chewing gum but it was definitely more than that", he told the hearing.

Hamer, who works for the North West Ambulance Service, admitted his behaviour was unacceptable but claimed the incident was a one-off.

"I know that once is too often and accept this was wrong", he said.

HPC chairman Ian Griffiths said the incident was likely to undermine public confidence in the paramedic profession.

He said: "The panel find that in acting in the way he did he failed to maintain high standards of personal conduct.

"He failed to behave with honesty and integrity or make sure his behaviour doesn't damage public confidence."

But Mr Griffiths said Hamer, who spent seven years in the armed forces, had shown 'significant' insight and remorse.

He said: "The panel regard his actions as a momentary loss of temper in a man of previous good character.

"The panel has decided to make a caution order for the minimum period of 12 months."