Drug addict who stole ambulance jailed

A drug addict who stole an ambulance with an elderly patient and "terrified" paramedic inside has been jailed for 21 months.

Marshall Leese, a prolific monkey dust user , sped through red lights while being chased by police after taking the ambulance from outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent. 

Had it crashed, the patient would have died, the court heard. Leese eventually stopped at a petrol station on the A34 in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme and fled but was found hiding nearby by a police sniffer dog.

The 32-year-old appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after previously admitting false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking following the theft on 25 March.