A cycle paramedic’s phone was snatched out of her hand by moped thieves while she was on her way to an emergency.
Katherine McKenna, 32, who was wearing her paramedic’s kit, was about to respond to an emergency call to an elderly man who had fallen down stairs. She was attacked by three muggers, all wearing helmets with black visors covering their faces, on two mopeds in the West End of London on July 25.
Ms McKenna was uninjured and determined to return to work the next day but said: “I was really shocked. I could not believe that it happened and I was angry I couldn’t respond to the patient who needed my help.
“Sadly this type of attack is common. They are hurting people. They are putting other people in danger on the roads and pavements but they are also a danger to themselves. I have been called out to, and treated, youths who have had accidents on their mopeds.”
Paul Cook, operations general manager at London Ambulance Service, said: “It is appalling for a paramedic to be targeted while on duty and we will work with the police to identify and prosecute those who did this.”