A MAN has been jailed after he threatened an ambulance crew with a knife in August.

Mohammed Laheri, 23, of no fixed abode, made the threats to the crew as they were called to treat a patient with a suspected head injury.

On arrival at the scene, the male patient appeared to be intoxicated and was holding a knife, which he then waved at the ambulance technician and student paramedic on Tontine Street in Blackburn last month.

Shaken up and frightened, the crew were helped by Police and taken to safety whilst the male was arrested.

At a hearing in Preston Crown Court last week, Laheri was sentenced to 21 weeks in jail.

And the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has welcomed the sentence.

Nicholas Sutcliffe, Advanced Paramedic for NWAS, said: “Although thankfully our staff were not physically injured during this incident, it was a horrific experience for them which is bound to have a lasting effect.

“The trust takes incidents such as this extremely seriously and has supported the colleagues by offering counselling services and helping them through the legal process.

“We are pleased with the outcome and feel this man has now been brought to justice.”

In 2016, NWAS recorded 413 incidents of physical abuse towards staff, 104 of which took place in Lancashire, a number that has risen by 24 per cent compared to the previous year.

And Mr Sutcliffe said he encouraged staff to remain vigilant and report any instances of abuse as incidents such as this were occurring more frequently.

He said: “Unfortunately, despite the fact that our staff work hard day in, day out to help others, it is becoming all too frequent that they are the subject of abuse.

“We actively encourage staff to report such incidents to the Police but must stress to the public that we are only human and that incidents like this really can take their toll.”