Prison for Drunken Man Who Stole UK Ambulance

A drunk football fan stole an ambulance to drive 30 miles home to Chelmsford - leaving paramedics stranded while treating a seriously ill patient.

Unemployed father-of-two Tyrone Weir, 35, had been at Wembley Stadium watching the England v Spain game on November 13.

But after ending up in Hackney with no money, phone or way of getting home, he stumbled across an unlocked Mercedes Sprinter ambulance at 3am and drove himself back to Essex.

Tracking device Weir will now spend Christmas behind bars after police followed the ambulance's tracking device and found it parked outside his house in Seventh Avenue.

They heard him shouting to his girlfriend: "Well, how else was I supposed to get home? I don't care who comes round here."

Weir refused to give a breath test and 0.6g cannabis was found in his property.

At Chelmsford Crown Court he was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and banned from driving for 24 months after admitting possession of a Class B drug, taking a motor vehicle without the owner's consent and failing to provide a specimen.

Angela Hughes, prosecuting, said: "Mr Weir had gone to watch the football game with friends and after drinking beer and spirits in Baker Street he found himself at Liverpool Street Station with no money or phone.

"He made his way to Hackney where he found an ambulance in Well Street, which had been called to treat chest pains for what was considered a heart condition.

"The ignition had been left on and paramedics came out of the house to find the ambulance missing.

"The internal tracking system took police to Seventh Avenue, where they arrived at 7am and they found the ambulance there. PC Bradley heard loud shouting from the defendant."

Officers determined that Mr Weir, who lives with his girlfriend and her two children, had been drinking.

Gavin Harris, mitigating, said: "Mr Weir has previously been a very good character and his girlfriend, who is a primary school teacher, said she had never seen him act like this before.

"Mr Weir has sent a letter of apology to the ambulance service and says that he is sickened and stunned by his behaviour in those lost hours.

"He said that he is incredibly sorry and that he made a difficult job even harder.

"It is clear he was not thinking properly and is worried about anyone harmed by his actions.

Redundant "He is a parent to two children who are four and six, and since being made redundant from his job as managing director of a fishing retail company, he has taken them to school every Monday and Tuesday." Magistrate Sheena Collins said: "We are sentencing you for 16 weeks, having taken your guilty plea into account. It was an ambulance on call that you took and a huge amount of alcohol was involved in a long drive to Chelmsford. This is a very serious offence."

RESPONSE ¦ London Ambulance Service operations manager Paul Gates said: "We welcome both this sentence and the seriousness with which the court has treated the matter.

"Fortunately the care of the patient was not adversely affected. A fast response car was also at the scene." ¦ The national requirement to drive an ambulance requires a C1 LGV licence which features additional training and tests. An extra three-week intensive driving course by the relevant service is also needed.