Driver sacked after filming himself tailing an ambulance through traffic 'as a quick way to get to work'

A courier has been sacked after filming himself trailing an ambulance so he could ‘find the fastest way to get to work’.

Danny Jones posted a boasting video of himself chasing the ambulance as other cars pulled over on the A49 in Warrington, Cheshire.
 
The 22-year-old recorded the 40-second video on his mobile phone as he drove behind the vehicle which had its emergency lights flashing.
 
He can be heard saying: 'I appear to have found a quicker way to work. Everybody is beeping at me and I don’t care. Are you ready? This is the quickest way to work. Follow this.

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'Pulling over, pulling over, not me lad, I’m there, I’m on it, I’m going past. Ta-ra all.'
 
But the clip backfired for Danny, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, when he was fired over the footage.

Danny said: 'I wasn't actually doing anything wrong, the video has been made out to be a lot worse than it actually is - that was the purpose of the video but in reality I wasn't doing anything wrong.
 
'I pulled over to let the ambulance past, I was driving under the speed limit, I didn't go through any red lights.
 
'I wasn't stopping the ambulance from doing its job and I wasn't causing any issues as I made sure that I was keeping my distance.

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'I was holding the steering wheel and my phone was in a holder while it was recording - I was driving safely, I knew it would be daft of me to do anything illegal.
 
'Really, I was just on my way to work and there happened to be an ambulance in front of me and I happened to be at the front of the line of cars and behind the ambulance.
 
'I have made the video out to be worse than it is, and made the situation worse for myself, by saying 'this is the quickest way to get to work' and it has backfired on me.'
 
The video attracted thousands of views before Danny took it down after he was criticised by the emergency services and driving authorities for his 'irresponsible actions'.

Danny, who has racked up more than 24,000 Facebook followers, posted: 'Just to let you know my videos have upset some viewers. They have been taken down, there will be more but not when in control of a vehicle.
 
'I have had a lot more positive responses than negatives from the video, but I've taken it down now and even deleted all of my other vidoes.
 
'I've got a credible driving licence and I don't want this to get any worse than it is - I have already lost my job because of videos I've posted on my Facebook page. And I have struggled to find a job since.'

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A spokesman for Brake, the road safety charity, said: 'This is a shocking example of irresponsible driving.
 
'Anyone that uses a mobile phone behind the wheel is taking an unnecessary risk and increasing their chances of being involved in a serious crash.
 
'Emergency services personnel are specially trained to drive in emergency situations and trying to keep up with them is foolish, dangerous and potentially illegal.'
 
A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service said: 'We do not condone any acts of dangerous driving as they can have serious consequences for both the driver and other road users.

'Our crews are trained to drive in emergency situations and to drive through traffic quickly and safely. It is not safe for a non-emergency vehicle to be driven in the same way.'
 
Danny added: 'I can see why people may take offence and that’s why I’ve removed the video. I don’t want people to be angry and upset about it.
 
'I will do more videos but not in a car, maybe on a bike but I haven't really thought about it yet.
 
'I would tell people if they are thinking about posting a video online, not do anything that might get them into trouble. Even if you are unsure, don't do it.'