POLICE in Cumbria are being assaulted at a rate of more than once a day, figures suggest.

Officers in the county were targeted nearly 500 times, according to new data released by the Government.

It marks an increase of around 25 per cent and has prompted one police figure to stress that officers are 'not punchbags' and trying to serve communities.

New data released by the Government showed there had been 498 assaults between March 2021 and 2022, up from 399 in the previous 12 months.

In 95 of those recorded assaults, officers were injured, according to the figures. 

Officers escaped without injury 403 times.

Paul Willams, the chair of the Cumbria Police Federation, said there had been 498 assaults 'too many'.

"Violence against our Cumbrian Officers shows little in the way of slowing down with an increase of almost 100 assaults on our officers from the previous year," he said.

"Sitting at 498 assaults from March 2021 to March 2022 is 498 too many and a sour taste of what our members have to endure every day they venture out to keep the public safe.

"There is no excuse for this and I fear it will get worse.

"The pressure of policing continues to increase and to be a victim of an assault for doing our duties is an added pressure.

"It is an appalling state of affairs in the year 2022 to see such an increase.

"Our members are not punchbags and there are human beings under the uniform they are wearing trying to keep communities safe."

Cumbria Police's chief superintendent Matt Kennerley said: “Police officers, like everyone else in society, should be able to go to work without fear of being assaulted.

“Our officers go to work every day to help keep people safe and the majority of the public understand this and show respect to the police as they go about their work in the community.

“Instances of assaults are not only extremely upsetting for the individual officer but could result in officers being removed from the front-line, putting strain on our ability to respond to emergency incidents.

“There is no excuse for assaulting a police officer – or an emergency services colleague - and any such incident will be subject to a thorough investigation with the goal of bringing offenders to justice.”