TRAUMA provoked by dealing with the 1993 IRA bombing of Warrington convinced an ambulance chief that he should quit work and launch a landmark legal battle.

Today former Mersey Regional Ambulance Service superintendent Ray Doherty says he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is taking his former bosses to court.

The 48-year-old was responsible for sending out paramedics to Bridge Street to attend to the dying and injured - while the chance of another explosion posed a real threat.

Mr Doherty, who was in charge of the service's control room dealing with the aftermath, said: "The Warrington bombing was my trigger. it was then when I realised it was getting to me and I needed to retire.

"It was the effect of sending out crews when we thought they were in danger themselves from a further device."

He believes that even though he was supposed to be "in control" of his service's reaction to the bombing, the truth was far different.

Mr Doherty, of West Derby, retired just over two years after the terrorist attack. He worked for the ambulance service for nearly a quarter of a century but now finds it difficult to pursue a new career.

He explained the symptoms of his condition: "You do not sleep. You get very short-tempered and irritable which makes re-employment difficult," he explained. "It makes you lose interest in other things."

Working with the victims of gangland shootings in Liverpool and countless suicides and road accidents down the years, in the control room and at the scene, sent his stress levels spiralling, it is also alleged.

Writs have been issued in the High Court on behalf of Mr Doherty through his Liverpool-based solicitor J Keith Park claiming damages against the NHS Trust for failing in their duty of care. Six fellow workers have also issued writs.

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