The attack happened in west Belfast

The woman was treated for facial injuries after stones were thrown at the emergency services in the Grosvenor Road area of the city on Saturday.

The ambulance crew was called out to a house at Lincoln Square, after reports that someone at the address had collapsed.

However, when they arrived they found that no-one was ill and were attacked by a gang.

One man pushed his way into the ambulance before assaulting the woman and her colleague.

The police were also in the area investigating a hit-and-run incident which had happened earlier in the Springfield Heights area of Ballymurphy.

Assaults condemned

A 50-year-old woman had been taken to hospital with head and chest injuries after being struck by a car before 2200 BST on Saturday.

It is understood that when the police arrived at the scene, the attackers then turned on the officers.

Larry O'Neill from the Ambulance Service condemned those behind the assaults.

"These people were out there trying to help the community, not to be attacked," he said.

"Apart from the injuries they received, and the fact that they had to be stood down from their shift for the rest of the night, it's significant that that vehicle was then out of service for the rest of the night, which obviously reduced the ambulance cover available."

One man was arrested at the scene in connection with the hit-and-run incident and the assault.

A car was removed from the area for examination by forensic scientists.