Men who damaged ambulance on emergency call-out in Derbyshire appear in court

The ambulance crew had been attending a call-out on Hope Road, Bamford, in the early hours of January 1.

The vehicle was left parked up and securely locked outside the Travellers Rest pub. When paramedics returned to the vehicle, they noticed the rear doors had been forced open.

Jae Liam Rodgers and Oliver Sammans appeared at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court last month, where they pleaded guilty to committing criminal damage.

Both were given a 12-month conditional discharge, ordered to pay £99.67 compensation each to East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), a £20 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.

They were identified after CCTV was released as part of a joint appeal from EMAS and Derbyshire Police.

Mark Ward, Security Management Specialist for EMAS, said: “Our staff work hard every day to deliver the best possible care to our patients and when people damage our vehicles, it makes our job harder.

“This damage took a life-saving vehicle off the road for a day. Our mechanics and colleagues in our fleet team worked hard to get it back out on the road and ready to respond to patients, but the money this cost could have been spent on extra crews or lifesaving equipment.

"We ask people to treat all NHS staff with respect. Abuse of our staff and damage to our vehicles will not be tolerated and we will pursue the maximum penalty when this happens.”