Ambulance off road after Hartlepool vandals smash vehicle while crew treat patient

An ambulance had its windows smashed, dashboard ripped out and electronics strewn across a pavement while paramedics were treating a patient in a house, a service has said.

The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) is calling for witnesses to come forward after the emergency vehicle was vandalised in the early hours of Wednesday 31 May 2023.

A radio, data terminal and a tablet computer had been ripped out in the incident, which happened at around 3am in the Hartlepool area.

The ambulance is set to be off the road for three weeks while repairs are made. The total cost of the repairs is expected to be £2,100.

Shane Woodhouse, head of operations, said: “Vandalising an emergency ambulance is wholly unacceptable and the damage caused might have had more immediate and serious consequences if our crew had needed to take the patient to hospital.

"Thankfully the patient did not need to be taken to hospital, but their life may have been put at risk because of this mindless attack. Had the patient been in a life-threatening condition, this could have had a very tragic ending.

"The ambulance was clearly parked outside a patient’s house while the crew were inside treating a caller who had rung 999 for help.

"As a result of this incident, the crew were unavailable to respond to any further patients for the rest of their shift, and the vehicle is now off the road for several weeks while we aim to repair the extensive damage."

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