Rogue van driver tailgated ambulance on 999 emergency call just to beat traffic

Builder Mark Clayton, 25, was seen intimately pursuing an ambulance with flashing lights successful South Wales and erstwhile stopped by the police, helium told officers helium was 'in a spot of a rush'

A rogue van operator tailgated an ambulance rushing to a 999 exigency telephone to bushed postulation successful a "moment of axenic madness", a court heard.

Builder Mark Clayton was seen intimately pursuing the ambulance with flashing lights - and was seen laughing successful his vehicle. When the careless driver, 25, was stopped by the police, helium told officers: "I was successful a spot of a rush." Prosecutor Regan Walters said a constabulary serviceman was connected patrol erstwhile helium saw a achromatic Vauxhall Vivaro van pursuing the ambulance.

The serviceman was travelling adjacent Llanelli, South Wales, erstwhile helium saw the van down the ambulance travelling astatine the aforesaid velocity and allegedly "using it arsenic a means of progressing done traffic. Swansea Crown Court heard that the serviceman besides saw the van operator laughing and was utilizing his telephone to grounds his driving. The serviceman followed the van and pulled Clayton implicit who understood erstwhile asked that helium had been pulled "because I was pursuing the ambulance."

Clayton apologised to the serviceman and added: "I was successful a spot of a rush." He was arrested connected suspicion of unsafe driving. Clayton, of Llanelli, pleaded blameworthy to unsafe driving. He has 1 erstwhile condemnation for 2 offences for failing to halt aft an mishap and driving without security from 2022.

Alex Scott, defending, said Clayton was a hard-working builder who worked 50 hours a week oregon much - and noted it was fortunate that nary collision had happened. Judge Geraint Walters described the driving arsenic foolish and unsafe behaviour "by idiosyncratic who thought it would beryllium bully athletics to tailgate an ambulance."

He said it was worse that helium was utilizing his telephone portion doing it. He told Clayton that helium has seen 2 sides to him - a hard-working idiosyncratic and "an immature idiosyncratic successful immoderate aspects of his idiosyncratic life." Clayton was sentenced to 8 months successful situation suspended for 2 years.

He was ordered to implicit a rehabilitation people and bash 160 hours of unpaid enactment successful the community. He was besides banned from driving for 12 months and has to walk an extended trial earlier helium tin get his licence back. Judge Walters told him that was the terms to wage for a "moment of axenic madness." The justice added that helium sees galore radical utilizing their mobiles portion astatine the instrumentality - which they request to realised could origin a fatal crash. He said: "The roadworthy is not a playground. From what I spot these days you could beryllium forgiven for reasoning tons of radical deliberation it is."