Campaign warns public to stop council staff abuse

A fresh campaign aimed at stopping council staff being abused by the public has been announced, after incidents almost doubled in a month.

Recent reports included one worker being pushed down an embankment and another nearly being crushed when a lorry drove through a closed road.

Cumberland Council's assistant director of highways and transport, Karl Melville, said staff "have the right to go to work, do their job and come home without being abused".

Last year, a similar campaign featured posters of council workers' children placed near roadworks, to remind drivers that those working there have families.

Incidents of abuse also saw council staff fitted with bodycams.

At a recent council meeting, Mr Melville told members a lorry went through a road closure at a bridge in Sebergham, nearly crushing one of the workers on the bridge, while in a separate incident a vehicle travelled through a road closure and collided with the back of a wagon.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, monthly figures showed incidents of council workers being abused shot up from 34 in March to 64 in April.

Mr Melville said the council has "also had situations where half-eaten food has been thrown at our staff while they're doing their work".

"That's totally unacceptable," he said.

Leader of the council Mark Fryer said staff safety was a priority, adding the Labour-led council would look at taking private prosecutions "if the police think that it isn't worthy".

"We've got to look after our people," Fryer said.

The new campaign will be launched over the summer.

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