A POLICE force is reminding people of the severe consequences assaulting police officers and staff can have as it reveals staff have been assaulted ten times since December.

Chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, Lisa Winward said assaults were not 'part of the job,' and the force would not tolerate behaviour in this way.

The chief constable made the announcement as the force revealed there had been ten assaults on police staff since the beginning of December 2018.

She said: "All too often police officers and staff are subjected to assaults and threats.

"While the severity of such attacks changes, the impact upon society does not.

"It is never acceptable to assume that assaults upon police officers and staff should be tolerated, they are not simply 'part of the job,' while it is clear that the nature of policing requires members of the organisation to handle difficult and hostile situations, assaults upon them are serious and unacceptable."

The force said an average of ten instances of assault against police officers and staff were being reported each month. The law has changed in recent months to reflect the severity of assaults on emergency service workers. The 'Assaults on Emergency Workers (offences) Act 2018' has doubled the maximum sentence from six months, to 12 months in jail.