A man who stole an ambulance from outside a hospital with an elderly patient and a paramedic still inside has been jailed for 21 months. Marshall Leese, 32, drove the vehicle erratically through red lights for more than 20 minutes while police gave chase.

Leese took the Fiat Ducato ambulance from a triage bay outside Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent on the evening of 25 March. An elderly patient, a man in his 80s who was on blood-thinning medication and being treated for a head injury, was in the back with a paramedic.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Leese had been ushered out of the driver's seat of a different ambulance by paramedics moments before he got into the second vehicle. The ambulance driver had gone into the hospital holding the keys, and the vehicle was in "run lock" mode, which keeps the engine running while the keys are removed. The paramedic in the back thought his colleague had got back into the driver's seat before the vehicle started moving, and shouted at Leese to pull over.

Red lights and a petrol station chase

Leese, of Denbigh Street in Hanley, drove erratically for more than 20 minutes, including through red lights, as police chased him for about two miles. He eventually stopped at a petrol station in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, where he tried to hide from officers before being caught. A second ambulance was sent to take the patient back to hospital.

The court heard that Leese was experiencing delusions caused by the synthetic drug monkey dust, which he used daily. Prosecutor Robert Holt told the court that had the ambulance crashed, the patient could have died.

Leese pleaded guilty in July to false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking, as well as failing to provide a specimen for analysis at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital and using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance. The court heard he has 16 convictions for 22 previous offences, including a vehicle theft in 2009.

Sentence

Recorder Ben Williams KC sentenced Leese to 21 months in prison on Tuesday. Leese appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court by video link from HMP Dovegate, near Uttoxeter in Staffordshire.

Staffordshire Police said after Leese's guilty plea that the theft had put the patient, the paramedic and other road users at serious risk. The force's investigation led to Leese admitting all of the offences at a hearing on 28 July.

Frequently asked questions

What happened at Royal Stoke University Hospital? On the evening of 25 March, Marshall Leese drove off in an ambulance from a triage bay outside the hospital while an elderly patient and a paramedic were still inside.

Was anyone hurt? No injuries were reported. The patient was taken back to hospital by a second ambulance after police stopped Leese at a petrol station in Chesterton.

What was the sentence? Leese was jailed for 21 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Tuesday 10 November 2026 after pleading guilty to false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking.