A drug addict who stole an ambulance with an elderly patient and "terrified" paramedic inside has been jailed for 21 months.

Marshall Leese, a prolific user of monkey dust, sped through red lights while being chased by police after taking the ambulance from outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent.

Had it crashed, the patient would have died, the court heard. Leese eventually stopped at a petrol station on the A34 in Newcastle-under-Lyme and fled but was found hiding nearby by a police sniffer dog.

The 32-year-old appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after previously admitting false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking following the theft on 25 March.

Leese, of Denbigh Street in Hanley, struck when the ambulance driver went into the hospital holding the keys, recorder Ben Williams KC said.

"The driver had left it in a mode which meant it still was running while he went inside... leaving his colleague in the back with an elderly patient and that gentleman's carer," he said.

He had been "ushered out" of the driver's seat of a different ambulance by paramedics moments before he drove off in the second one, the court heard.

Footage played in court showed Leese getting into the Fiat Ducato and driving away.

As he drove off, the paramedic leaned into the front compartment and shouted at Leese to stop.

"When you got behind the wheel and decided to keep going, once he'd made his presence known, you in terms committed the offence of false imprisonment intentionally although you may not have thought about it in that way," Williams told the defendant.

The paramedic was "terrified" and grabbed a metal pole which he threatened to hit Leese with, the recorder said.

The patient, who was in his 80s and was on blood thinners, was being treated for a head injury in the back of the vehicle.

Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, defending Leese, said he led an "extraordinarily difficult and chaotic lifestyle", adding: "He has been abusing alcohol and drugs for a significant length of time."

A medical report concluded he had a "complex delusional belief system" and believed he was being controlled.

"I do think you need help as much as punishment," Williams said.

He said Leese was vulnerable in prison and had been subject to victimisation by other inmates.

Nevertheless, he said he was concerned about the likelihood of successful rehabilitation so a custodial sentence was necessary.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said previously that a second ambulance was sent to where Leese stopped to recover the patient and take them back to hospital.

A welfare check was also carried out on the staff member to "maintain their wellbeing", a spokesperson added.

Staffordshire Police said after ditching the stolen ambulance, Leese ran off into the nearby woodland but was found by police dog Foxy and he was bitten on the hand when he failed to comply with instructions.

He initially denied the offences, claiming he had been cycling in the area, looking for a friend, when he was approached by the dog.

"This was a particularly dangerous incident which could have ended very differently if it wasn't for the quick actions of officers to apprehend Leese," Det Con Lili Rose Gregory said.

West Midlands Ambulance Service welcomed the sentencing, and said it was "an incredibly dangerous and reckless act".

They added: "[Leese's] actions put the safety of those on board, the public and other road users at risk, which could have resulted in a far more serious situation.

"In addition, it also took a vital emergency vehicle away from patients who may desperately have needed it."

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