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The number of West Midlands Ambulance (WMAS) staff attacked on the job has risen by almost a quarter in a year.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request found the number of recorded physical attacks on staff rose from 166 to 210 between April 2011 and March 2012.

The service said the rise reflected an increase in emergency calls.

The Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel (APAP) said the increase in assaults was concerning.

Birmingham had the highest increase - from 57 to 76 incidents. Staffordshire had the lowest with reported physical assaults up to 23 from 19.

Steve Elliker, head of security and safety from WMAS NHS Trust, said many of the reported attacks related to drink and drug issues but others were people who "decide to vent their anger" at staff.

"The trust is of course disappointed that the figures have gone up and they continue to do so," Mr Elliker added.

"The number of emergency calls have gone up by 26,000 for the 2011-2012 year, and staff are also more pro-active in coming forward."

The service said there were 39 successful criminal prosecutions against those who carried out physical or verbal abuse in April 2011 to March 2012, compared with 22 the previous year.

Jonathan Fox from the APAP said: "When it comes to staff safety you can never eliminate the risk, you can only reduce it and this increase reflects the difficulties with doing our job.

"We have campaigned for body armour for front line staff for 15 years and having training but no body armour is like saying you can have seat belts without airbags.

"Protection like body armour is part of a package of measures and is not just for knives or guns, it's just as useful for blunt force trauma which what most of those reported physical assaults will be."

He added that London Ambulance Service was one of the only services in the country which offers front-line staff body armour.

Mr Elliker said all staff receive conflict resolution training and many would be getting a refresher course this year.

"The concerning issue is that there is no specific template or scenario that you automatically identify as a definitive threat," he said.

The trust said the number of reported incidents of verbal abuse had also increased from 334 for 2010/11 to 381 for 2011/12.