ALMOST half the attacks on firefighters in West Yorkshire last year took place in Bradford.

These attacks included a weapon being brandished at one crew and 10 incidents of fireworks being thrown at firefighters.

On Friday members of West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s Community Safety Committee will be given an update on incidents in the 12 months from March 2019 to April this year.

During that period there were 81 attacks on crews in West Yorkshire. This was up from 75 in 2018/19 – but still below the 92 recorded in 2017/18.

Of these 81 attacks, 37 took place in the Bradford District.

The crew based at Bradford Fire Station on Leeds Road saw the most abuse of any station in West Yorkshire – 11 recorded incidents.

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By comparison, there were only eight recorded incidents in all of Kirklees last year.

The 11 attacks on Bradford’s crews were made up of six incidents of fireworks or other missiles being thrown, a brandished weapon, three incidents of verbal abuse and one of “aggressive behaviour.”

There were nine attacks against crews based at Odsal in that period – the second highest figure in West Yorkshire. This included the physical assault of a firefighter and incidents where missiles were lobbed at crews.

Killingbeck in Leeds was third worst for attacks, with eight recorded incidents.

A report to the committee, which meets online on Friday, says: “There were no injuries to firefighters during these attacks however there was damage caused to an appliance at two of these instances.

“The Chief Fire Officer re-emphasises that even one attack is one too many and that every assistance and encouragement will be given to the police to bring offenders to court.

“Work is continuing with a variety of agencies from the police and district councils to community groups and youth leaders to address these issues.”