Blue 999 lights stolen (From Salisbury Journal)

Blue 999 lights stolen

2:00pm Thursday 13th September 2012 in Headlines By Karen Bate

EMERGENCY vehicles waiting to respond to 999 calls at Ringwood Fire and Rescue Service have been targeted by a thief, who broke into the station and stole their blue lights.

A man has been arrested for stealing the lights from a fire engine and two community responder cars, and will appear in Southampton Magistrates Court on September 24.

Inspector Simon Tribe from Ringwood Police said: “This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable.

“Theft is theft and this is made even worse by the fact that an emergency response vehicle could have been denied to people needing emergency assistance.”

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service station manager Ben Smith said: “The community relies on these vehicles in time of need.

“The damage caused could have delayed the response to a range of emergencies and could have put fire service crews and other road users in danger.

“We thank Hampshire Constabulary for their quick and effective response to this spate of damage.”