Overview
- Marshall Leese, 32, climbed into a parked Fiat Ducato ambulance outside Royal Stoke University Hospital on March 25 and drove it erratically for more than 20 minutes, including through red lights.
- A man in his 80s was being treated for a head injury and was on blood thinners in the rear of the vehicle, a condition prosecutors said would have made survival unlikely if the ambulance had crashed.
- The ambulance had been left in 'run lock' mode so paramedics could remove the keys while the engine stayed running, which allowed Leese to start and drive the vehicle.
- Police tracked the ambulance to a petrol station in Chesterton where Leese fled into nearby woodland and was found by a sniffer dog; he denied taking the vehicle in interview but later pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking and was jailed for 21 months.
- Defence lawyers told the court Leese had long-term daily use of the synthetic drug known as 'monkey dust' that caused delusions and paranoia, and the case may prompt ambulance services to review 'run lock' procedures to reduce similar risks.