ATTACKS on firefighters have soared to almost 1,000 a year, figures revealed yesterday, as their union warned that hundreds of job losses have left services struggling to cope.

In the past year, police recorded 933 incidents that involved a physical attack on firefighters in England, an increase of 194 on the previous 12 months.

This sharp rise is the highest recorded level of violence against firefighters since the government started recording the data in 2010.