CONDEMNATION has been heaped on a thief who stole from an ambulance car while it was on a call in Derby.
The opportunist criminal took two sat-navs from the vehicle while staff were attending a patient following a 999 call.
Police say the theft was reported to them at 8am on Saturday by one of the East Midlands' Ambulance Service's first responders.
She had noticed the items were missing after she and her colleague had finished treating the patient and left them in the care of ambulance staff.
A force spokesman said the response car was not locked at the time of the incident, which saw paramedics called to Lapwing Close, in Stenson Fields, at 7.30am.
Superintendent Gary Parkin, who is in charge of policing in Derby, South Derbyshire and Erewash, said: "This ambulance car was responding to a medical emergency, for which the sat-navs are needed to get them there as directly and quickly as possible.
"The patient is their first thought and at times everything else, including security, comes second.
"To take advantage and steal from within the vehicle is nothing short of unbelievable and it's likely they were treating a neighbour of the thief."
A spokesman for EMAS confirmed the sat-nav systems had been taken from the vehicle.
He said: "One of them was the ambulance car sat-nav system and the other was a sat-nav which belonged to the frontline staff member."
Councillor Karen Hillier represents Sinfin ward on Derby City Council which covers Stenson Fields.
She said: "I am appalled to hear about the conduct of this crime, which has sunk to a new level. The equipment stolen acts as just one of many measures to respond effectively to emergencies.
"It is a crime against our own very public services that are there to protect our friends and relatives including those of whoever carried out this act, and they should take a note of that."
Tom Fulep is a nearby resident who lives in Carron Close. He said: "What a sad society we live in. To steal from the emergency services is simply despicable. There seems a total lack of respect for anything or anyone these days."
Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101.
