Coronavirus: Police called after medical technician ‘abused’ by Peterborough household told to isolate themselves

Craig Gardner said he had to “withdraw from the scene” after the incident in Peterborough last night (Sunday).

The senior emergency medical technician for the East of England Ambulance Service, whose Twitter account states he is from Peterborough, tweeted: “Thanks @CambsCops assistance tonight after advising a household they needed to isolate for 14 days. They were so aggressive towards me I had to withdraw from scene. What is it with people not understanding why we need to isolate. I’m there to help not be abused @EastEnglandAmb.”

Further details of the incident including the location and if any arrests were made were not disclosed.

The Peterborough Telegraph contacted the ambulance service and police for comment, with both condemning what had happened to Mr Gardner, while the Cambridgeshire police Twitter account tweeted: “Craig and rest of our blue light colleagues in @EastEnglandAmb are doing a fantastic job under huge pressure and we will not tolerate threatening behaviour towards them. We are in the midst of a public health emergency - please just let them do their job.”

The ambulance service confirmed the incident happened in Peterborough but had no further information.

A spokesperson said: “Our crews are getting wonderful support from nearly all members of the public and we’ve seen many stories around the region of notes of appreciation and even small gifts being left on ambulance windscreens by businesses and individuals.

“However, we continue to fully support staff who are abused by a very small minority of the public.”

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Constabulary said: “Our blue light colleagues at the East of England Ambulance Service are doing a fantastic job under huge pressure and we will not tolerate threatening behaviour towards them.

“When called upon we will protect ambulance workers as they seek to do their job - helping the people of Cambridgeshire in these very difficult times.

“If you’re asked to self-isolate it’s for a reason – please respect the advice and those delivering the message.”