AMBULANCE crews cannot enter hundreds of homes in Scotland, even for emergency calls, because of fears for their safety.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has 437 "red-flagged" addresses across the country where paramedics and other crew members must wait for police protection before entering to respond to 999 calls.

A geographical breakdown of the no-go areas shows 125 in Glasgow, 86 in Lothian, Fife 53, Forth Valley 53, Lanarkshire 34, Tayside 29, Ayrshire and Arran 22, Grampian 17, Dumfries and Galloway 7, Highlands 6 and Borders 5.

All the addresses are at locations where emergency service workers have been attacked or threatened.

The figures were uncovered by a Freedom of Information request by the Conservative Party, whose justice spokesman David McLetchie said it was a "disgraceful state of affairs when ambulance workers who dedicate their working lives to helping people cannot enter so many homes for fear of their own safety".

Mr McLetchie added: "It is hypocritical of the SNP to boast about crime levels in Scotland reaching a 32-year low when you have more than 400 places in Scotland that are no-go areas for ambulance workers.

"Every employee has the right to work without fear of attack. People who threaten, or, worse, attack, emergency staff should be dealt with in the severest possible way. The Scottish Government must act on this immediately for the benefit of the public and the workers themselves.

"At a time when budgets are pressed, we cannot afford to have ambulances waiting outside addresses because the occupants are too violent to deal with."

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said its staff had to do a difficult and challenging job, often in extreme situations, and were subjected to verbal abuse on an almost daily basis. He said: "Every year, ambulance crews report more than 200 incidents of physical assault, ranging from pushing and punching to spitting and attack with a variety of weapons. This is unacceptable.

"Crews respond to incidents where patients are hurt as a result of violence. They also respond to situations which may appear to be perfectly safe, but quickly change to something more threatening."

The spokesman said alcohol was a key factor in most cases where crews were threatened or assaulted.

He added: "The safety of ambulance staff is paramount and the service has a number of measures in place to protect staff. All crews are given training in management of aggression and how to undertake a full risk assessment on arrival at scene to establish if there is potential danger.

"If ambulance crews feel their safety may be compromised, they are instructed to hold near the scene and await support from the police, or additional ambulance crews.

"As a further protective measure, addresses where there have been previous incidents of violence or

threatening behaviour towards staff, are flagged in control rooms. If a 999 call comes in from a flagged address, dispatch staff can request additional police support."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Violence against NHS staff is unacceptable, but this represents a very small proportion of the around 2.5 million residences across Scotland.

"We take the safety of NHS staff very seriously. They have the support of police and are covered by the Emergency Workers Act which provides legal protection."