The brazen theft of an ambulance from St John's Geraldine station in South Canterbury on Sunday has been described as ``reprehensible'' by St John Canterbury district operations manager Dion Rosario.
The ambulance was taken from a garage that had been locked and secured shortly after 6pm by an ambulance crew after returning to the station following a callout.
Police confirmed a 37-year-old Timaru man was arrested and charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle early yesterday after the ambulance was found abandoned by police nearly 50km away near Cave.
A St John Ambulance uniform was also stolen.
The theft was discovered by ambulance officers when they arrived at the station to start a shift, a St John spokesman said.
Mr Rosario said the theft shocked St John staff and posed a significant risk to public safety.
``It is reprehensible that someone would steal an ambulance, limiting our ability to provide essential emergency care to the public.
``We have located another ambulance for the Geraldine crew to use so this doesn't impact patient safety.''
The spokesman said the ambulance, a Mercedes model with a value of about $180,000, was being assessed for damage yesterday.
St John was assisting police with investigating the ambulance theft.
The man is to appear in the Timaru District Court at a later date.
