SOUTH East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) crews could soon wear body cameras in a bid to reduce the number of assaults on paramedics.

According to data released under the Freedom of Information Act, the number of attacks on SECAmb staff has increased by 88 per cent over the past four years.

There has been an alarming rise from 98 incidents in 2011/12 to 184 in 2015/16.

In response, the NHS trust said several ambulance services were looking at using ‘body cams’ similar to those used by the police to tackle the issue.

SECAmb security manager Adam Graham said: “One thing that’s being looked at nationally is additional devices and additional training – so for the devices, body-cams, such as the police have, [are] being considered.”

He added the trust’s current measures to protect its staff includes CCTV, risk assessments, and conflict resolution training.