A man who stole an ambulance in Leatherhead has been jailed for 20 weeks.
Gary Elms, 37, broke into the Kingston Road ambulance station at about 2.30pm on March 17, before taking off in the emergency vehicle.
He was later tracked down by police to Chalky Lane, Chessington, where he was arrested.
Elms, of Beacon Hill Road, Hindhead, pleaded guilty to burglary and aggravated vehicle taking at Redhill Magistrates Court on Monday.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Darryl Donaghue said: "Stealing an ambulance is one of the most dangerous crimes someone can commit, not only are they putting lives at risk by taking it of service but they are difficult vehicles to manoeuvre and require specialist training to drive safely.
"Officers worked closely with their counterparts at South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) and were able to quickly trace the vehicle."
Secamb senior operations manager Peter Radoux: "Both the break-in to the ambulance station and the subsequent theft of a frontline ambulance were extremely irresponsible acts.
"We are pleased that the police acted quickly to track down and charged the person responsible.
"We hope that those responsible understand how dangerous their actions were and that lives could have been put at risk should the vehicle have been needed in an emergency."
