The number of common assaults on police, fire and ambulance crew members has reached a three-year high, with 6,509 recorded on frontline personnel across Scotland in 2016/17.

The true number is higher as this statistic does not include more serious assaults and attempted murders.

The figures came out just hours after the head of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) took to social media following an attack on one of his crews, who had to be rushed to hospital.

Chief Officer Alasdair Hay tweeted: “Scottish Firefighters attend inherently dangerous incidents every day to protect their communities. Last night one of our crews was attacked by youths throwing bottles, injuring a firefighter. Totally unacceptable.”

The firefighter was part of a crew tackling a blazing bin in Springburn, Glasgow on Saturday night when thugs targeted them.

A separate crew, called to the same area at 9.55pm to reports of a second bin fire, were given a police escort.

Assistant Chief Officer Lewis Ramsay, the SFRS’s Director of Response and Resilience, yesterday said: “Our firefighters’ main purpose is to save lives. You can rest assured that they will always be there on the front line to help at times of emergency.

“These firefighters are your father, mother, brother or sister – someone’s family.

"It beggars belief when I hear that they have either been physically assaulted or verbally abused when trying to assist their communities.”

The figures were revealed by the Scottish Government in a letter to Scottish Conservative Justice spokesman Liam Kerr.

He said: “It’s extremely worrying that the number of attacks recorded by police on emergency service workers has risen to a three-year high.

“We have to get tough on those who commit these offences to make it clear it will not be tolerated.”