LIFE-SAVING ambulance crews face record levels of violence when they attend emergencies.
Figures show there are 3,500 red-flagged addresses in Scotland where paramedics need a police escort.
This is an increase of 25 per cent in the space of a year in the number of houses and flats where crews could be at risk of assault or abuse.
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They are often threatened with knives – and on one occasion a shotgun – while trying to save lives.
And union bosses have said a rising number of staff are leaving the Scottish Ambulance Service due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Statistics reveal Glasgow postcodes have the highest number of red-flagged properties – at 1,192 – but rural areas also have their share of dangerous addresses.
In the Borders area there are 42 of these properties, 43 in Dumfries and Galloway and even Shetland has five.
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In Edinburgh 591 addresses have been marked as dangerous, with 372 in Ayrshire and 12 in Orkney.
Paramedic Jamie McNamee of trade union Unison said: “People are being physically and verbally abused. You don’t know where it is going to happen, or when. It could be 9am, it could be 3pm.”
Paramedic crews receive a police escort when they attend addresses where staff have been previously attacked or threatened.
Read more: Police Scotland in 'killer clown' craze warning
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “The safety of ambulance staff is paramount, which is why the service takes appropriate measures to protect them.”
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