AN angry customer who dragged a bin into reception and then abused a pregnant member of staff is just one example of the shocking abuse faced by council employees.

The terrifying ordeal was described by council chiefs as they roll out their crackdown on antisocial behaviour in a bid to tackle the growing crisis.

Frontline workers have also been left shaken by people public screaming abuse at them and have had objects thrown in their face, Copeland Council’s chief executive Pat Graham has revealed.

And the rise in incidents has taken a psychological toll on the victims at a time when stress-related illness appears to be on the rise in local authorities across Cumbria.

Barrow, Allerdale, Carlisle, South Lakeland and Eden councils have all reported sickness levels above the national average, with many of these instances down to stress.

The single biggest cause of absence of absence in Copeland’s neighbouring authority of Allerdale council staff was “psychological” with 477 days lost because of anxiety, depression or stress in a five-month period this year alone.

Staff at Copeland now have the power to ban members of the public who are “persistently abusive” from council premises as part of their zero tolerance policy towards the unacceptable behaviour that is fuelling the stress crisis.

However, the council has confirmed that there are are no plans to introduce additional security and none of these incidents have gone to court.

Pat Graham, Copeland’s Chief Executive, said: “The majority of our customers are great and understand the need for mutual respect. But sometimes we talk to people who are under pressure or at crisis points – for example to relating to housing or benefits – and this can spill over into unacceptable behaviour.

“Our staff do all they possibly can to help residents but sometimes the outcome will not be what the person wanted. Whilst our frontline staff are trained to deal with challenging customers, this new policy firms things up and reminds everyone of where the boundaries lie.”

The council’s new Unacceptable Behaviour Policy identifies how staff and members should deal with aggressive or abusive behaviour, vexatious requests or complaints, and unacceptable levels of persistence and demands.

The council’s new policy will also tackle online “harassment” including repeated email contact and “baseless complaints”.

It also sets out when people cross into unacceptable behaviour, giving staff the confidence to cut the conversation short if they feel uncomfortable or threatened.

Julie Betteridge, Executive Director of Operations at the council, said: “We deliver a wide range of public services and always aim to deal with customers in an open and respectful manner, however we do have instances where our staff and members encounter what we class as unacceptable behaviour.”

The policy applies to employees, elected members and the general-public as well as third party contractors and vendors who are receiving or delivering services to the council.