By ADAM LAZZARI LIVES were put at risk when medical equipment was stolen from an ambulance in Wisbech this morning. A defibrillator, used to restore hearts during cardiac arrest, was taken along with other resuscitation kit, equipment used to treat diabe

By ADAM LAZZARI

LIVES were put at risk when medical equipment was stolen from an ambulance in Wisbech.

A defibrillator, used to restore hearts during cardiac arrest, was taken along with other resuscitation kit, equipment used to treat diabetes and jackets and helmets all thought to be worth �6,000.

Paramedics discovered the thefts when they went to the ambulance, parked outside Wisbech Ambulance Station, in St Augustine’s Road, at 5am after being called to an emergency.

Thieves entered the vehicle after cutting out part of the front driver’s side quarter light window and opening the door.

Ray McAllister, assistant general manager of West Norfolk Ambulance Service, said: “These defibrillators or shock boxes, as they are known, can be lethal if they get into the wrong hands.

“I’m very worried that there are kids out there who think they can mess about with this gear and they could end up killing someone or themselves.

“We use shock boxes to restore hearts when they go into cardiac arrest but if it is used on a normally functioning heart it could easily have the exact opposite effect.”

He added: “Fortunately we had a back-up vehicle available and the emergency was dealt with. But valuable time was lost and it could have been a lot worse.

“This ambulance had to be taken off the road for at least a day and the people that carry out crimes don’t seem to think about the fact that they could be putting lives at risk because of that.

“It seems that they were after drugs and just grabbed what they could and made a run for it. The drugs were securely locked away and they were unable to get hold of them.”

It is believed the incident took place between 3am and 5am.

Some items were recovered close to the ambulance station.

Anyone with information should contact Cambridgeshire police on 0845 4564564.