A PARAMEDIC was thrown out of the back of an ambulance when it was hijacked on a 999 call.

The ambulance crew was answering an emergency call in Highworth when it was taken and driven down the road.

A paramedic was also assaulted in the incident.

Police were called and a youth was arrested. He will appear in court next week.

And ambulance staff in Swindon are putting their safety on the line every weekend, according to the chairman of the Ambulance Service Union in Wiltshire.

Dominic Morgan hopes the serious nature of the incident in Cherry Orchard in the early hours of Sunday morning will encourage ambulance bosses to treat the safety of their employees who are regularly kicked, punched and spat on by drunken revellers in Swindon more seriously.

"We have had ambulances stolen from stations in Wiltshire before, but that is the first time I have heard of one being taken while on duty," Mr Morgan said of Sunday's incident in Highworth.

"The trouble is that ambulance staff are often called out to emergencies with no idea of what situation they are likely to face.

"The job has become a lot more dangerous and staff in Swindon are regularly faced with violent situations, probably more so than in the rest of the county.

"We have had problems in Salisbury on certain travellers' sites where staff have been forced to have a police escort, but the police do not have the resources to accompany our staff all the time.

"We are often having to assess our own health and safety when we get there and there is no doubt that a lot of our members in Swindon are concerned about the level of protection they have, particularly when dealing with calls late at night."

Paramedics in Swindon have called for stab vests in an effort to heighten their protection, but health bosses have rebuffed this option because of cost.

"We are not like the fire service where we have five or six firefighters, who have a certain level of protection in numbers," said Mr Morgan.

"We are working in isolation and sometimes we send out solitary paramedics.

"The Ambulance Service has to sit and watch the alcohol culture that exists in this country at the moment and when trouble breaks out we are normally in the middle of it.

"We need to be more flexible on response times, particularly late at night when there are issues of health and safety and we should have a protection kit in every ambulance for those crews that go out late at night."

The Great Western Ambulance Trust said it could not comment on the incident until the court case has finished.

An eye-witness said: "The crew were in the house and then somebody jumped into the ambulance. The crew ran out and tried to get back in but it was driven off.

"It went a few yards down the road and a paramedic fell out of the back. Then the ambulance went a bit further but looked like it had been stalled. It looked horrific when somebody fell out of the back, and you just hope that they weren't badly hurt.

"And you've got to wonder at the mind of anyone who starts mucking around in an ambulance that's been called out to help someone who needs it."

  • A 16-year-old youth was arrested and charged with an aggravated taking without consent, namely an ambulance, no insurance, no driving licence and excess alcohol in connection with the incident. He has been bailed to appear at Swindon Youth Court on Wednesday, April 26.