Police are being supplied with emergency equipment to treat victims of acid attacks or incidents involving other hazardous chemicals.

The parabag equipment, which is being supplied to forces across Wales and England, includes six 500ml bottles of water, two pairs of chemical gloves, two face masks, two pairs of safety goggles and a special "bottleshower" with a spray adapter to shower water over a victim’s skin.

The" bottleshower" is understood to be a more effective way of diluting corrosive liquid and deliver a continuous flow of water than simply tipping water straight from the bottle.

The idea started with the West Midlands Police who worked with UK emergency medical supply specialists SP Services to put together the equipment to respond to an attack and to minimise injury to members of the public.

A prototype bag was initially developed by SP Services, based in Telford in Shropshire, and demonstrated to officers at the National CBRN Centre in Coventry which provides guidance to the emergency services for resilience in chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear attacks.

The kitbags feature the national “remove” campaign message highlighting the need to remove victims from the contaminated environment, remove outer clothing and directions on how to remove the contaminant from skin by rinsing continuously with water.

Sergeant Scott Howard from West Midlands Police said he searched for a suitable medical equipment supplier who could create a bespoke solution. 

“We want to be prepared to respond effectively if we are called upon to reduce injury to the public".

He said: “Other forces have created in-house solutions to an acid attack for some months which includes large bottles of water. Following evaluation we decided a flexible, agile and scalable kit was more suited to our needs, particularly when deployed by specialist teams where space is at a premium in vehicles. 

“Officers will likely need to have a hand free to deal with whatever is happening in such a situation. SP Services already had an emergency burns kit so when I contacted them they said they could adapt that kit to just what we wanted.”

The kits, which were first deployed at the royal wedding in May by West Midlands Police who were providing tactical and logistical support to Thames Valley Police, are the first of their kind containing personal protective equipment for emergency services as well as water for victims.

Business development manager at SP Services Paul Watts, who worked with their development team to adapt the bag so the water bottles could be quickly and easily extracted with one hand, said the kit was well received by all three emergency services with police, fire and ambulance chiefs attending the national CBRN conference in February.

He said: “We supply parabags containing all sorts of medical equipment for the emergency services to treat burns, bleeding and many other medical emergencies as well as supplying the NHS, Army, Nato, businesses and even Premiership football clubs with equipment. 

“The bottle shower is such a simple but clever product. It turns a litre of water into having the effect of up to ten litres of liquid which can be dispersed efficiently and directly onto a victim. The volume of water is increased by the flow being reduced while effectively targeting the contaminated area and decreasing the injury risk.”