Hero nurses fighting coronavirus are being SPAT at by yobs calling them ‘disease spreaders’

HEROIC nurses putting their lives on the line during the coronavirus pandemic are being abused in the street and labelled "disease spreaders."

Some have even been spat at while working around-the-clock caring for patients struck down with the deadly airborne disease.

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The Royal College of Nursing said it had received anecdotal reports of community nurses receiving abuse while working in uniform during the outbreak,

The trade union’s director of policy Susan Masters revealed several NHS staff had mentioned sickening incidents and called for the "abhorrent behaviour" to stop now.

She added: "Nurses are running towards the fire to provide the care the communities need.

"They are going in to see patients and caring for them when everyone else is keeping their distance.

"The public need to understand that nurses are socially critical and right now society needs us more than ever."

Describing one incident she said: “These were community nurses who had to go into people’s homes and were in uniform.

Boris Johnson has already warned the NHS faces being totally overwhelmed by coronavirus just like the swamped health service has been in Italy.

He fears the system could start to fall apart within just two weeks unless Brits heed lockdown advice aimed at stopping the spread of the killer pandemic.

Doctors have already warned a "tsunami" of severely ill patients is about to swamp them as the numbers of people struck down in the UK tops 5,000.

His warning came as one NHS doctor laid bare the reality of life working on the front-line in the battle against coronavirus.

In a special seven-day diary, the A&E medic at a hospital in the North East describes how the NHS is on a “war footing”.

He slams the Government for leaving doctors and nurses as “sitting ducks” by not giving them proper protective gear.

And the medic, who wants to remain anonymous, fears ventilators could run out and says drunken revellers add to strain on the overstretched service.

Last week, the Sun reported how an army of 65,000 retired nurses and doctors had been told “Your NHS Needs You” in the battle against coronavirus.

Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said: “Coronavirus is without a doubt the biggest health threat to our country in a century, and the biggest challenge our NHS has ever faced.

“While our amazing staff in every corner of the country are doing everything in their power to ensure that those who need care when the virus peaks can get it, we cannot win this battle alone. We need an army of workers to return to us and join us in the fight.

“So this is a personal message to all those of my former colleagues: ‘Your NHS Needs You.’”