OUR story about how paramedics tending to a patient in a Darlington park where subjected to abuse and had equipment stolen by youths has caused a lot of anger on Facebook.

Crews working to save lives in the region have been stolen from, verbally or physically abused more than 200 times so far this year.

Here are some of the comments:

Michelle Weston: Just awful let's hope they never need a paramedic in their lives!! 

Sarah Louise Llewellyn: Feral kids. Dread to think what the parents are like. I'd be totally mortified and furious if I found out my teenager was doing stuff like that. I like to think I've brought her up properly not dragged her up.

Christine Watson: One day when they, or their loved ones, need medical assistance I hope they think on this. Ignorant and selfish behaviour 

Isabel Weightman: I think ambulance staff should carry Tasers

Susan Cowley: Well if one of them has taken home a heavy duty torch parents, it's your time to stand up and say 'yes my kid did this and I am so ashamed Police please punish them'. If you don't then you're as bad as your kid and I hope you're never having a heart attack somewhere and need these people to help.

Nichola Charlton Mcweeney: Unbelievable. Why are these chavs not taught respect and knowing the difference between right and wrong? Paramedics should not be abused for doing their job.

Sandra Robson: I really don't know what is happening in society today, this is absolutely disgraceful! I would be utterly ashamed if it were my kids!

Holly Avery: When it's their mate lying unconscious in a field somewhere from drinking too much then I hope they feel great about themselves that paramedics couldn't find them after having only the torch light from their phones. Schools need to educate more on emergency services, they should be looked up to not be targets for their foul mouths!

Sandra Simpson: The trouble is that neither parents nor schools are allowed to discipline the little monsters so they never learn respect. Worse still is that we are a couple of generations down the line from when discipline was dumbed down to "talking quietly to them and explaining what they were doing wrong". Would make more impression if accompanied by a damn good hiding.

Laura Kathryn Hodgson: The kids parents should be ashamed! The idiots, one day you or your parents will need ambulance assistance and I wish they had a facility to refuse to help unless police asssistance then they will learn!