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Paramedic returned from treating patient to find tyre let down
A paramedic got back to his fast response car after treating a patient to find someone had let down one of his tyres.
The car was grounded for an hour on Tuesday night after he helped a man who had collapsed in the Odeon Cinema at Jarman Park.
East of England Ambulance spokesman Gary Sanderson called it an 'outrageous' act which put Hemel Hempstead residents' lives at risk.
He said: "Other people who potentially would have needed treatment wouldn't have been able to get it.
"If that response car had needed to go somewhere else quickly it wouldn't have been able to go because of the tyre.
"Peoples' lives were potentially put at risk by this. It's absolutely outrageous."
The car, based in Kings Langley, arrived at the scene at around 7.45pm, before ambulance crews from Hemel Hempstead and Kings Langley turned up.
The paramedic went with one of the crews to Watford General Hospital and tried to stabilise the patient en route.
It was on his return to Jarman Park, no more than an hour later, that he found his tyre had been punctured.
It took another hour for a recovery company to arrive and replace the it.
Mr Sanderson added: "Our service cannot believe that someone has the audacity to deflate a tyre on an emergency vehicle whilst they are trying to stabilise a seriously ill patient.
"Words cannot describe how the paramedic felt when he returned to collect their car and saw the flat tyre."
He added that he could not recall any such incident taking place during his time with the ambulance service.
He said: "We have had things like sat-navs stolen from ambulances now and then but ambulances can still work without them.
"This completely grounded the car. It's disgusting."
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
