MORE than a dozen police officers in Hampshire were assaulted over Christmas – including one group who were attacked by a knife-wielding man.

Police say 16 officers across the county were either punched, kicked or spat at between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

Chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, John Apter, described the attacks as “unacceptable”.

He said that the knife attack could have been fatal, had it not been for the use of a Taser.

Mr Apter said: “It is only through luck and the availability of Taser that we have not had an officer killed over Christmas.

“The level of violence our officers have to deal with is unacceptable, policing is unpredictable and dangerous but we must not accept that being assaulted is just part of the job. If we do this makes assaulting a police officer acceptable, it is not.”

Mr Apter said that between seven and 16 officers are attacked across Hampshire each weekend.

He said: “Proportionally there were more attacks over Christmas than most weekend because there are fewer officers. Officers are giving up their own Christmases to help protect and support others and so it sticks in the throat that violence is used against them. They are absolutely society’s punch bags.”

He added: “Thankfully, on this occasion those 16 officers who were assaulted were not seriously injured.

“However, with fewer officers and a more violent society we now police with our fingers crossed that officers won’t be seriously assaulted, we breathe a sigh of relief that an officer’s injuries were not as bad as they could have been.

“Our officers deserve better.”

Hampshire Constabulary were unable to give details of each of the individual assaults.

However a spokesperson said: “We know our job comes with an element of risk but being assaulted is not just part of the job and must never be seen as such.

“Hampshire Constabulary has a zero tolerance approach to officer assaults, and we were the first force in the country to have developed a plan – known as the Seven Point Plan – for ensuring these incidents are investigated properly and staff and officers are supported in this process. “