Man admits taking ambulance with patient and paramedic inside

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By Stephanie Wareham, PA Media

A man has admitted false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking after an ambulance was taken from outside a hospital while a patient was being treated in the back.

Staffordshire Police said they were called to a report of a man taking the emergency vehicle from the Royal Stoke University Hospital at about 8.15pm on March 25.

The ambulance was parked in a triage bay at the hospital in “run lock” mode, which keeps the vehicle running but allows paramedics to remove the keys from the ignition, the force said.

While a paramedic was treating a patient in the back of the ambulance, 32-year-old Marshall Leese got inside and drove away.

Appearing at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, Leese, from Hanley, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and the aggravated vehicle taking of the Fiat Ducato ambulance and driving it dangerously.

Leese also pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance on 25 March.