Emergency services criticised for taking SELFIES from crash scene and posting them on Twitter
- Emergency services called to four-car crash on A171 yesterday morning
- Two drivers were taken to hospital with injuries including burns from airbag
- Workers took selfies and put the online with hashtag 'professionals at work'
- Users branded pictures 'crass' and called for the group to be sacked
Emergency service workers have been slammed on social media after taking selfies at a crash scene and posting them on Twitter.
The images appeared on an official North Yorkshire Police page with the hashtag 'professionals at work' following a four-car smash on the A171 during rush-hour yesterday morning.
At least two drivers were injured in the accident and had to be taken to hospital, while commuters complained of hours of queues as a result.
Social media users have branded these emergency service workers 'crass' and 'disrespectful' after they posed for selfies at a crash scene which were then posted on an official North Yorkshire Police Twitter feed
One motorist suffered burns from an airbag, while another had to return to the hospital this morning because of the severity of his injuries.
Social media users branded the pictures 'crass' and 'disrespectful', with some calling for the group posing in them to be sacked.
Liam Gault, who was involved in the accident, said: 'It doesn’t matter if the crash resulted in injuries or not, there are things you don’t do and this is one.
'The crash will have affected the people involved and would have had a knock-on effect for loads of other drivers who I’m sure would have been annoyed to see the emergency services taking selfies.'
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue area manager Dave McCabe said: 'We will be carrying out an investigation into this occurrence and are, therefore, unable to comment further at this time.'
At least two motorists had to be taken to hospital following the four-car crash on the A171 during rush-hour yesterday morning
The North Yorkshire Ambulacne Service said it was taking the images, which appeared alongside the hashtag 'professionals at work', very seriously
The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it was treating the incident 'very seriously', and that the snapped staff have now been given a 'reminder' over the trust’s social media policy.
A recent probe revealed two officers from North Yorkshire Police quit after they were investigated for social media misuse.
And a force spokesperson said that the officer who took the picture has apologised.
They added: 'The officers had dealt with the collision and were waiting for the recovery vehicles.'
Justin Candlish was in the orange van pictured in the selfie snaps and says taking a ‘selfie’ was the last thing on his mind.
However, he added: 'It was a bad crash and the services did a great job'.
One Facebook user said: 'It’s very disrespectful to post selfies next to a crash scene.'
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