Walter Finch
A MAN stole an ambulance in Gibraltar while high on cannabis and crashed it into a building.
The 24-year-old took the vehicle from the Accident and Emergency Department before embarking on a joyride through Upper Town.
The police reported that the suspect had already tried – and failed – to steal another ambulance at Saint Bernard’s Hospital.
They received reports of a Gibraltar Health Authority ambulance ‘driving erratically before colliding with MacFarlane House’, inflicting minor damage on the vehicle.
The man was arrested at 9.15pm, where a roadside drugs test revealed he was high on cannabis.
He was then further arrested at New Mole House Police Station for driving without a licence or insurance.
It is just the latest incident of drink or drug-driving in Gibraltar over the festive period and the tenth arrest.
One motorist even managed to plough into 12 parked vehicles at once.
The roadside carnage has prompted the government to put on a free night service to incentivise people not to use their cars over Christmas.
Transport Minister John Cortes announced that the weekend night bus will run across the Christmas period every night from Friday, December 20 to Sunday January 5 with ‘passengers not paying for its usage during this time.’
The Ministry of Transport said it would ‘like to remind people the dangers of drink driving to both them
and others.’
Cortes added: “We have a bus service to be proud of, and we need to be able to rely on it when we need it.
“Christmas is a time when many people move around Gibraltar more than they usually would after hours as they celebrate the festive season.
“The least that we could do is provide this additional service, free of charge, which will make the celebrations more environmentally friendly and safer for all.”
