The rock smashed the windscreen during an emergency call

The shocked driver suffered ear injuries after his windscreen was smashed by a rock.

The attack happened just after 2200 BST on Monday as the ambulance passed Royal Cornhill Hospital on Westburn Road.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said: "It was totally irresponsible - it could have caused something fatal which does not bear thinking about."

The ambulance was responding to an emergency call with its siren and blue lights activated.

We have a right to go about our duties without fear of attack Russell Page Scottish Ambulance Service

Crews have been assaulted in Grampian before but it is believed to be the first time an ambulance has been attacked.

The head of the Scottish Ambulance Service's north east division, Russell Page, told the BBC Scotland news website: "The paramedic is very traumatised, he is a dedicated paramedic.

"He was attending a call and an object was thrown at the windscreen, which shattered. The paramedic carried on to the call and dealt with it.

'Dangerous act'

"It was totally irresponsible."

Ambulance staff have condemned attacks on crews

Grampian Police said: "This was an extremely irresponsible act by someone who should have realised how dangerous it was to throw a stone at any moving vehicle, particularly an ambulance which was clearly on an emergency call.

"Not only did it risk injury to the crew or any patient who might have been on board but also to pedestrians and other drivers."

Police appealed for the driver of a red Vauxhall Astra who told the paramedic that his window had also been broken to contact them, as he may have information which could prove helpful to the inquiry.