Sacked for defending himself from violent thug

Veteran wins tribunal against bosses who took side of his attacker

- SALLY HIND

AMBULANCE DRIVER'S ORDEAL ENDS

AN AMBULANCE driver who was awarded £22,000 after being sacked for defending himself against a drunken thug says he was “treated like a criminal” by bosses.

Mark Harvie had a 29-year unblemished record with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) when he was accused of assaulting a member of the public who was threatening him at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

The 61-year-old said he became the victim of a "witch hunt" and was fired days before prosecutors threw out the case against him.

Now an employment tribunal has ruled Mark was unfairly dismissed and awarded him £22,468 compensation for his ordeal, which he says left him outcast from his ambulance "family".

Mark said: "When I was told I was finished after all those years, it was a kick in the teeth. At some points they were treating me more like a criminal than the other person.