Police are trying to get to the bottom of an "unusual" blaze that completely destroyed an ambulance van while paramedics treated a neighbour in a nearby house.
An investigation has been launched after a West Midlands Ambulance Service crew were alerted by concerned neighbours that their emergency vehicle was up in flames.
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The emergency responders had been called to a property on Flash Lane, in the Trent Vale area of Stoke-on-Trent at 12.37am on Monday.
After calls from neighbours, the health workers returned outside to find their vehicle fully ablaze.
Fire teams rushed to the scene to put out the fire, and now shocking images show its blackened remains.
"We can confirm that one of our ambulances caught fire whilst the crew were in a nearby property in Stoke on Trent in the early hours of this morning," a West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said.
"The ambulance crew were called to Flash Lane in Trent Vale at 12.37 am to a patient who required assessment.
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"They were with the patient when they were alerted by neighbours that the ambulance was well alight.
"The fire service were quickly on scene and extinguished the fire, but the ambulance suffered significant damage.
"Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.
"The vehicle has been recovered where the cause of the fire will be forensically investigated.
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"Because the Trust has no vehicle over five years old, fires are very unusual so establishing the cause is extremely important."
It comes just weeks after nine tyres on six ambulances were slashed in Ramsgate on March 22nd.
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The South East Coast Ambulance Service tweeted at the time: "We are beyond disappointed that anyone would do this ever, let alone now when our staff are under so much pressure."
They added: "This is in such contrast to the vast majority of the public who are being fantastically supportive of our staff."
Similarly, it comes as a coronavirus community responder returned from a call to find her tyres slashed.
Helen Crouch, 41, who volunteers in the villages around Leicestershire where she lives delivering food and medicines to the elderly, was distraught to find thugs had punctured her tires, smashed her windows and keyed her VW Touareg last month.
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Featured Image Credit: SWNS