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

A man has been charged with kidnapping after allegedly boarding an ambulance outside a hospital and driving with a patient inside.

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

Police said that there were three people in the back of the vehicle at the time, including a patient and a paramedic, but none of them were injured in the incident.

Marshall Leese, 31, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is charged with kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle and failing to provide a sample for analysis.

He is also charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle not in accordance with a licence, and operating a motor vehicle without third party insurance.

Leese is expected to appear at North Staffordshire Justice Center on Friday.