The homes of violent patients in the West Midlands have been put on an out-of-bounds blacklist for paramedics unless they have police back-up.

Ambulance crews have been told they must not enter the homes of 63 people with histories of violence or sex crimes.

The figures have been released amid soaring levels of assaults on medics across the region.

Liberal Democrats obtained the statistics under the Freedom of Information Act and say the addresses make up a total of 7,500 nationally where 999 workers are at risk of violence.

The party’s health spokesman Norman Lamb said that all frontline ambulance service staff should be given protective body armour.

Of the ambulance trusts which answered the question, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) had one of the lowest numbers of addresses listed as dangerous.

London Ambulance Service and the North West Ambulance Service have blacklisted 1,900 and 3,071 addresses respectively.

WMAS said it had seen a 48 per cent jump in assaults on its staff last year and had made 28 successful prosecutions against thugs.