Calls urging the Mayor of London to support the police in trialling spit guards for officers working on the streets have been welcomed.

Yesterday the London Assembly passed a motion calling on Sadiq Khan to support the Metropolitan Police in piloting spit guards following campaigning on the issue by the assembly member for Harrow, Susan Hall.

A spit guard is a restraining device intended to prevent someone from being spit at or bitten.

Ms Hall said: “Police officers run towards danger and put their own safety at risk to protect us.

“We owe it to them to ensure all officers are sufficiently protected from dangerous risks such as spitting or biting.”

Ms Hall proposed the motion following a letter from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to the London Assembly last month that said spit guards will only be used in custody suites not on the streets.

The assembly voted in favour it.

Around 37 police forces across the country currently issue spit guards to officers but not all them are given out to frontline officers.

As part of the pilot, police officers would be given guidelines and training on how and when to use them.

Ms Hall said she was “delighted” the assembly had voted in favour of trialling spit guard trials.

She added: “It is absolutely that week our officers safe, the officers are constantly spat at and bitten, and it is absolutely vital that they have some means to protect themselves.

“The Mayor needs to leave Cressida Dick in no doubt that she would have his full support were she to follow the example set by many police forces and allow the full use of spit guards.”