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Man jailed for stealing PPE from ambulance and assaulting NHS security guard near London hospital

Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police

A man has been jailed after stealing personal protection equipment (PPE) from an ambulance and assaulting an NHS hospital security guard.

Police were called at 9.19pm on Saturday to reports of a man stealing from an ambulance near Guy's Hospital on St Thomas Street, south London.

Mark Manley, 35, took a bag containing PPE from the vehicle which included masks, paper suits and hand gel, police said.

The NHS and emergency services have faced a severe shortage of PPE while battling the coronavirus outbreak.

When challenged by hospital security staff, the suspect assaulted one and racially abused another.

Some of the PPE items were also rendered no longer usable due to contamination, the Met Police said.

Manley was eventually detained by the security guards with the help of patrolling British Transport Police officers.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of theft, actual bodily harm and a racially aggravated public order offence. He was later charged with all three offences.

The 35-year-old was also charged with an assault against an emergency worker after the security guard sustained non-life threatening facial injuries.

Manley was jailed on Monday for six months at Croydon Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to all four charges.

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