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Ambulance ransacked by thieves looking for drugs
PARAMEDICS fear ambulances are being targeted by drug addicts after a 999 vehicle on an emergency call was ransacked and so badly damaged it was put out of action.
PARAMEDICS fear ambulances are being targeted by drug addicts after a 999 vehicle on an emergency call was ransacked and so badly damaged it was put out of action.A crew tending to a seriously ill patient at a house in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, were shocked to find that while they were inside, their vehicle had been smashed up, equipment wrecked, and personal belongings stolen.
It was the second attack on an ambulance in the Peterborough area in a week, and today an ambulance service spokesman said people desperate to get drugs may be putting others' lives at risk.
And they are doing it for nothing – because ambulances do not carry drugs.
There is another fear following the ambulance raid in Poplar Avenue this week, because the thieves took a fluorescent ambulance service jacket, and a female paramedic's identity card.
Duty operations manager Kevin Hamlyn said: "Our concerns are that whoever has taken this uniform could pose as a crew member."
He warned people to make proper checks if someone tried to pass themselves off as a paramedic on their doorstep.
Related:
Ambulance staff's Peterborough blacklist.
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Meanwhile, damage to the ambulance, including the satellite-navigation system being smashed when the thieves found it would only work in an emergency vehicle, was such that it was still off the road
Mr Hamlyn said: "The vehicle has been unable to respond to any emergency calls. It is expected to be out of action for some time until the sat nav is replaced.
"Scenes of crime officers have been examining the ambulance for clues.
"It is a concern that this is the second break-in within a week. It appears people are breaking into ambulances thinking they will find drugs, but there is only medical equipment needed to save people's lives.
"It is also a concern for the public, because it means an ambulance will be out of action, potentially putting lives at risk.
"Fortunately, in this case, the crew were able to use the ambulance to get to the hospital with the patient, but had the damage been worse, vital life-saving minutes could have been lost."
The raiders even stole 30 in sponsorship money a crew member had been collecting on behalf of their partner, who ran the London Marathon last Sunday.
A police spokesman said: "It is disgraceful that someone has broken into an ambulance while the crew were attending to a patient.
"We would like to hear from anyone who has any information in relation to this incident."
This attack came just days after thieves smashed the side window of an ambulance outside Wisbech Ambulance Station in St Augustine's Road and stole equipment worth up to 6,000
Anyone with information should call police on 0845 456 4564, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 and if anyone has concerns about the identity of an ambulance crew member following the theft of the ID, they should call 01603 424255.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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