It's tough work being an ambulance driver or paramedic, dealing with people who are desperately ill or those who have been badly injured in accidents.

The last thing they need is distractions in their work. Yet that's exactly what they are getting through a spate of 999 calls which are not emergencies at all.

Many people have the gall or ignorance to dial 999 when they have nothing more serious than a bad cold or a cut finger.

Increasingly, they are also being threatened or even attacked at scenes of accidents by people who are drunk or otherwise out of control.

All this is lowering morale of people we depend on to deal with emergencies and action must be taken to help them.

The 999 service urgently needs a filtering system, similar to that operated at hospital accident and emergency departments, so only urgent calls are accepted.

Police are needed to take immediate action any time paramedics or ambulance crews are threatened and attacked to ensure the perpetrators are arrested or at least restrained.

There is a real danger to these dedicated front-line workers through assault and stress. There is the added danger to members of the public that real emergencies may be missed through diversions ranging from false alarms to serious, unprovoked attacks.