A man has been detained after an ambulance was driven away from Royal Stoke University Hospital while a patient and a paramedic were still inside, prompting a major police response.
The vehicle was taken at about 8.15pm.
Officers say a paramedic, a patient and another person were in the rear of the ambulance when it left the hospital grounds.
Local police launched a wide search that involved a police aircraft and a dog unit, concentrating activity around the Chesterton area.
Officers tracked the vehicle until it came to a stop at the Esso service station on the A34, near the junction of Liverpool Road and London Road on Chesterton’s outskirts.
A man who tried to run from the scene was located by a police dog and detained.
He is a 31-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent and has been arrested on suspicion of kidnap, vehicle theft, drink-driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
Police confirmed no one inside the ambulance was hurt.
The suspect remains in custody and will be questioned.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 101 and quote incident number 743 of March 25.
