Man admits taking ambulance with patient inside

A man was sentenced to prison after stealing an operational emergency vehicle from a hospital triage bay while medical staff were actively tending to a vulnerable casualty, concluding a legal process that began with a dramatic nighttime pursuit across Staffordshire.

Marshall Leese, 32, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court where he admitted multiple offences following the events of 25 March 2026. According to court reporting from Birmingham Live, Leese had been experiencing drug-induced delusions linked to the synthetic substance known as monkey dust, believing he was being controlled and receiving coded messages.

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The incident unfolded at approximately 20:15 GMT outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital. The Fiat Ducato ambulance had been left parked in a triage bay in "run lock" mode—a system designed to keep the vehicle's engine running to power onboard equipment while allowing crews to remove the ignition keys. Inside the back of the vehicle, a paramedic was treating an elderly man in his 80s who was receiving care for a head injury while taking blood thinners, alongside another person acting as a carer, as detailed by Irish Mirror and The Mirror.

Prosecutor Robert Holt told the court that the paramedic initially assumed a colleague had stepped into the front seat. Upon realising the vehicle was moving with an unauthorised driver at the wheel, the crew member shouted, Who the f*** are you? You need to pull over, there are people in the back here, as reported by Birmingham Live. Recorder Ben Williams KC noted during sentencing that Leese continued driving through red lights around city streets for more than 20 minutes. Prosecutor Holt observed that if the ambulance had crashed with the elderly patient on board, there would have been virtually no chance of survival.

Staffordshire Police tracked the stolen vehicle as it travelled toward Newcastle-under-Lyme. The pursuit eventually terminated at an Esso petrol station on the A34 at the junction of Liverpool Road and London Road in the Chesterton area, where Leese abandoned the vehicle and fled into nearby woodland. A police dog unit, including police dog Foxy, was deployed alongside a police search plane to scour marshland off London Road. When located hiding in the area, Leese failed to comply with officer instructions and was bitten on the hand by the police dog before being detained.

During court proceedings, defence counsel Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe stated that Leese had led a chaotic and difficult lifestyle marked by prolonged alcohol and drug dependency. Recorder Williams acknowledged that while Leese was not travelling at extreme speeds and exercised some caution around other traffic, his erratic driving through red lights placed the public and his passengers at severe risk. Following his guilty pleas to charges including false imprisonment, aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen, driving without a licence, and driving without insurance, Leese was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Reflecting on the operation, Detective Constable Lili Rose Gregory from Staffordshire Police's criminal investigations department stated that the situation could easily have ended in tragedy. This was a particularly dangerous incident which could have ended very differently if it wasn't for the quick actions of officers to apprehend Leese, DC Gregory said, adding that investigators successfully compiled sufficient evidence to secure a conviction despite the defendant's initial claims that he had merely been cycling in the area looking for a friend.

West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that following the recovery of the vehicle at the Chesterton petrol station, a secondary emergency crew was dispatched to transfer the patient safely back to hospital for ongoing care. A formal welfare check was also conducted for the affected staff member to safeguard their wellbeing following the ordeal.

Separate from the historical court case, emergency services in Stoke-on-Trent experienced further operational activity when police and paramedics were dispatched to Weston Road in the Meir area following concerns for a man's welfare, with Staffordshire Police confirming that one individual was subsequently taken to hospital.