Two arrests were made after separate incidents last week when striking firefighters were struck by vehicles outside stations that were being picketed in south London. One man was arrested after a striker was hit by a car driven by a non-union manager trying to enter Croydon fire station, while a second arrest was made when an executive member of the firefighters' union FBU was hit by a fire engine returning to Southwark fire station. In the first incident, Tamer Ozdemir was airlifted to hospital with pelvic injuries. In the second, Ian Leahair, FBU executive member for the London region, was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs after being hit by a fire engine the union says was 'deliberately driven at the pickets'. A police officer was also hit. FBU reports a third incident where a member was hit on the hand by a returning fire engine. FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: 'This has been a day of shocking violence directed at London's firefighters. An incredible pattern seems to be emerging. It looks as though the private company hired to do our work has instructed its drivers to drive fast through picket lines. We ended the day in the extraordinary situation where the police had to protect striking firefighters from recklessly speeding vehicles, which were driven by those paid to break the strike.' He added that London Fire Brigade had 'brought hired thugs into London who have driven around at speed with their faces hidden by balaclavas in an attempt to menace and intimidate our members. Tragically three of our members have been injured as a result. I wonder whether the prime minister, Boris Johnson and the others who have spent the past week condemning the FBU for our industrial action will now condemn this violence against us.'
