Man jailed for taking ambulance with patient inside

Marshall Leese was sentenced to 21 months in prison on November 10 after pleading guilty to four offences arising from taking an ambulance with an elderly patient and a paramedic inside. The ambulance was taken from outside Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent on March 25, court proceedings showed.

Leese, 32, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, aggravated vehicle taking, failing to provide a specimen for analysis and using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance. The offences followed the drive in which he took the ambulance from a triage bay and continued despite the paramedic asking him to stop.

Prosecutor Robert Holt told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court that the paramedic initially thought a colleague had returned to the driver’s seat. He realised a stranger was driving and called on Leese to pull over, saying there were people in the back. Holt said Leese did not respond or attempt to stop.

The court heard that the ambulance travelled for more than 20 minutes, including through red lights. The judge, Recorder Ben Williams KC, said Leese was not driving at high speeds and appeared to exercise some care around other vehicles, but drove erratically and put others...