Police appeal after ambulance on emergency call in Derbyshire is damaged

East Midlands Ambulance Service were called to an emergency on Hope Road in Bamford in the early hours of New Year's Day.

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

The CCTV from inside the ambulance was checked and officers want to speak to the men in the footage in connection with the incident.

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 £200 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.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police, quoting the reference number 18*633893 and the name of the officer in the case, PC Clarke, by calling 101 or via the online contact form www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.