A MAN has been arrested after he threatened fire crew with a weapon in Middlesbrough.

Police were called to assist Cleveland Fire Brigade on Tuesday after it was reported that a man was being aggressive towards the fire crew and threatening them with a weapon.

Officers attended the scene on Garrett Walk in Middlesbrough at 7.55pm and a man aged 34 was arrested on suspicion of affray and currently remains in custody whilst enquiries continue.

A Cleveland Police Spokesperson said: “The Force will not tolerate this type of behaviour under any circumstances and our colleagues from the fire service should not be attacked or threatened when they go work.

“Officers are investigating this incident and would ask that anyone who witnessed anything or anyone with information to contact us on 101 quoting 155907.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Carl Boasman from Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: “The law is there to protect emergency service workers from violence and abuse.

“We would urge anyone with information to come forward. It is completely unacceptable for emergency workers to be subject to violence whilst doing their jobs. We are here to protect our communities and such actions put our firefighters at risk of injury and could prevent us from attending life-saving incidents.”

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.