Children as young as five are taking part in attacks on firefighters as a "vicious circle" of violence against emergency workers spirals out of control.

A new report has revealed there were 23 attacks on firefighters in West Yorkshire in the first month of this financial year - more than double the previous year's average of 10.3 incidents a month.

Now fire engines have been equipped with CCTV cameras to capture the thugs in action and help track them down for prosecution.

Little children pelting fire engines with missiles, including eggs and stones, contributed to the violent incidents reported by fire service employees.

Fire authority member, Councillor Valerie Binney (Con, Thornton and Allerton), said: "If little children see older children doing these things they are going to imitate them.

"It's dreadful and we need to put a stop to this before it becomes a vicious circle, with younger children copying the bad example of older ones.

"We are doing all we can to stop it and we now have cameras on the front of tenders so we are able to identify trouble-makers."

Coun Binney said a number of schemes were up and running to educate children about the good work of firefighters. She called for such "worthwhile" schemes to continue and be extended.

The new figures reveal that Bradford was the second worst area in West Yorkshire during April for such incidents, just behind Hunslet, in Leeds.

One of the incidents in Bradford involved a weapon being brandished, and the city's firefighters were also pelted with stones twice during the month.

Meanwhile, firefighters from Idle said a five-year-old boy hurled eggs at their fire appliance as they attended an emergency incident at the junction of Thackley Road and Ravenscliffe Avenue in April. They had already been pelted with eggs from a bridge by another young boy a month earlier.

Keighley firefighters reported one stoning' incident, while Cleckheaton and Illingworth firefighters experienced aggressive behaviour from members of the public.

The trend may indicate a general rise in violence towards West Yorkshire fire service personnel or may simply reflect the combination of unseasonal good weather and the school holidays over Easter, according to the fire service's latest Performance Management and Activity Report.

Keith Robinson, Bradford district manager for the fire service, said: "We are recording everything that happens now so we have got a true picture of what my guys are facing on the streets of Bradford.

"We get little kids on the streets giving us lots of abuse. We have got a group of children on the streets, from six years upwards, who are causing us problems.

"In April, we put together a dedicated task force to the tune of £50,000 with the council to go into schools and tell children that this is not on.

"Eggs are easy to get out of mum's fridge and they see it as a game, so we are talking to these kids about the consequences.

"If an egg splatters across the windscreen of a fire engine in Bradford city centre and obscures the driver's view, the fire engine could go head on into a bus and then suddenly you have got six or seven innocent people dead."

The report went before West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority when members of the authority met at headquarters in Birkenshaw yesterday.

West Yorkshire Police said the dangers of targeting emergency vehicles were obvious and added that they would seek to bring anyone involved before the court.

A police spokesman said: "Sadly, a small minority of individuals do from time to time target emergency vehicles attending calls.

"These people should remember they are attacking the very people they might one day rely on to help them or their families."

Steve Wolstenholme, watch manager at Idle fire station, said: "We had an incident in April where we went to an incident and had some eggs thrown by young children who were only five years old. Another young lad threw an egg at us from a bridge a month before and the previous two incidents were older teenagers throwing verbal abuse and threats.

"Overall, I thought things were calming down, but it goes through stages."

A firefighter from Odsal said the problem increased around the "silly season" in November and again during the Easter and Summer school holidays.

He said: "It's mostly little kids chucking stones and verbal abuse. You are often driving along and hear something hitting the pump that has been thrown."

Crew manager Neil Shaw, of Batley fire station, said: "We have had to put up with stones being thrown and abusive language. It's often kids."

will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk