£85,000 of equipment stolen from London ambulances in five years

A staggering £86,000 worth of equipment has been stolen from London Ambulance Service (LAS) vehicles in just five years.

A Freedom of Information request by the Standard found there were 37 cases of thefts from ambulances and paramedic cars reported between April 2011 and October 2015.

The total cost of items stolen, including expensive kit and personal items, totalled £86,370 – with some thefts costing the ambulance service in excess of £20,000.

In one instance in April 2014, an ambulance was stolen in the Islington area and was taken on a joyride for 16 minutes before the vehicle was recovered.

 Vandalised: The smashed window of a London Ambulance Service vehicle in January 2016

Paramedics and first responders were also targeted by thieves, with 15 personal bags stolen from LAS vehicles within the five year time period.

Only one of the bags was later recovered, with the total cost of personal belongings stolen reaching £700.

A defibrillator, tech drug and response bag stolen in Edmonton in April 2011 – worth up to £26,100

A defibrillator, oxygen cylinder and tech drugs taken from a vehicle in Edmonton in October 2011 – worth up to £25,200

A Lifepak 15 monitor/defibrillator taken in Romford in June 2015 – worth £24,000

Two response bags taken in Chiswick in November 2012 – worth up to £2,000

Radio handset taken in Brent in November 2011 and Wimbledon in December 2012 – worth £1,000 each

Two London Ambulance Service response bags were taken from Islington in July 2014 and February 2015 – worth £1,000 each

Other items taken include Entonox cylinder [medical nitrous oxide and oxygen mixture], a Sat Nav, a paramedic’s uniform, stab vests and blue paper roll.

There was also one theft recorded from the Olympic Park in Stratford during the London 2012 Olympic Games, with an ambulance service backpack worth £50 taken.

The data shows that the crimes occurred at a range of locations across London, but almost one-fifth of the thefts occurred in Islington.

All of the six thefts recorded between April 2014 and April 2015 happened in Islington, data shows.

Paul Woodrow, director of operations at LAS, said: "Stealing equipment from our ambulances and cars while our clinicians are treating sick and injured patients is putting lives at risk.

"Our vehicles hold vital emergency equipment and these actions impact on the care we deliver.

"There is also the financial cost to our service of replacing the equipment.

"Theft or damage to our vehicles will not be tolerated and we will work with closely with the Met  police to ensure anyone who is caught stealing or vandalising will be prosecuted.”