FIRE chiefs in West Yorkshire are backing moves to safeguard their firefighters.
They want to make attacks on crews a criminal offence.
Attacks on fire crews nationally are running at about 40 a week.
In West Yorkshire, there have been 150 incidents in the past 12 months, ranging from stoning (41) and physical assault (98) to verbal abuse (26).
Kirklees councillor Gordon Beever, of the West Yorkshire Fire Authority, said it was backing a Private Member's Bill by MP Alan Williams aimed at dealing with such crimes.
Clr Beever added: "Firefighters put their safety on the line every day to protect our community and the vast majority of people appreciate that.
"But a tiny minority of young thugs, in particular, seem hellbent on making their job as difficult as possible. We must tackle this problem before someone gets seriously hurt."
