Man charged with kidnap after ambulance stolen from hospital with patient inside

Staffordshire Police said they were called to a report of a man taking the ambulance from Royal Stoke University Hospital on Wednesday
A man has been charged with kidnap after allegedly getting into an ambulance outside a hospital and driving off with a patient still inside.

Staffordshire Police said they were called to a report of a man taking the emergency vehicle from Royal Stoke University Hospital at about 8.15pm on Wednesday.

The force said three people, including a patient and a paramedic , were in the back of the vehicle at the time but none were injured in the incident.

Marshall Leese, 31, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, has been charged with kidnap , theft of a motor vehicle and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

He has also been charged with driving a motor vehicle dangerously, driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance.

Leese is due to appear at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Friday.