Paint was sprayed in a traffic warden's face and a road worker was almost mowed down by a reckless driver as fears grow about attacks on our roads, with more than 30 reports of abuse this year alone.

Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) says its workers’ lives are being put in danger at roadworks across Bucks – as well as abuse aimed at traffic wardens and call centre staff.

Attacks include an incident where a warden had paint sprayed in their face when trying to move on a driver who had parked his van in the middle of the road.

A customer service officer in a council call centre was subjected to racist abuse over the phone and road worker was forced to jump out of the way as a driver ignored a road closure and sped through the road block.

County Councillor Mark Shaw, cabinet member for transport, said: “All of our workers out on the roads are there to do a job, and without them, the roads would be less safe.

“Instances of abuse will not be tolerated by us, and we have the full support of Thames Valley Police. Road workers are perfectly within their rights to phone the police if they are abused, threatened, or endangered on the job. Just think – would you put up with this?”

Acting Inspector David Washington, of Thames Valley Police, said: “Nobody should have to tolerate abuse or violence in the work place.

“Thames Valley Police is committed to working with our partner agency Transport for Buckinghamshire to ensure we are preventing and robustly investigating crime; supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice.”

TfB is now launching a campaign, 'Respect our Workforce', in a bid to educate drivers and other road users and curb the violence.

Campaign posters and case studies will be released this month, giving details on some of the worst incidents, and give insight as to why the council sees the campaign as necessary.

For more on the campaign, see the TfB blog