An ambulance worker awarded £34,000 damages for injuring himself lifting a patient has been stripped of the payout in a landmark legal ruling.

Anthony King, now 65, was awarded compensation in July last year, five years after damaging his thumb, back and knees carrying a 14st patient down narrow stairs.

The injuries ended his career with Sussex Ambulance Service.

But a panel of three judges yesterday reversed the court's original decision.

In an Appeal Court judgement which could have far-reaching implications Lady Justice Hale said ambulance staff had a legal duty to respond to calls for help, even if it put them at risk.

Union leaders last night reacted angrily to the ruling, which sets a precedent for similar cases across the country.

Mr King's solicitor Niamh O'Brady said her client was considering an appeal.

In November 1996, Mr King and a fellow ambulanceman were struggling to haul an elderly patient down the stairs of the patient's cottage in Seaford in a carry chair when his colleague suffered a sudden pain.

His grip slipped and Mr King's body was jarred as he took the patient's weight alone.

A county court judge last year ruled the ambulance service liable for damages.

But Lady Justice Hale overturned the order, saying while the lift was clearly hazardous, the service was not responsible for his injuries.

She said: "The ambulance service does not enjoy the luxury of being able to refuse a job."

Trevor Anderson, the service's director of operations, said: "We have always maintained we were not liable in this case.

"The nature of this type of job is that there are times when a person may be at risk and we do everything we can to mitigate that.

"There are some cases where it can be out of our control, such as when a member of staff is attacked. Then we will do everything possible to help.

"We take health and safety matters extremely seriously and are constantly looking at ways to help staff."

A spokesman for public service union Unison said: "This does not send out a positive message for staff.

"It seems as if they are being told that if they are injured, it is just too bad because the job is risky.

"It seems unfair staff should be treated differently from somebody who works in a shop just because their job description is different."

Ms O'Brady said: "It seems there is a misconception that just because it is important for a patient to get to hospital in a non-emergency, ambulance staff have to put themselves at risk of injury.

"We are considering an appeal on that basis."

In February 2001, a crew member fell and twisted her back after her ambulance was attacked by a drunken mob in Southwick.

In November 1999, eight youths beat up two ambulancemen as they attended an unconscious teenager in Crawley.