Yorkshire thief jailed after stealing paramedic's bag from inside ambulance

Jason Shields, 34, snatched the bag out of the cab of the ambulance while an emergency care assistant was attending to a patient in Dale Road on Tuesday, March 21.

Bank cards from the bag were later used in shops across the Rawmarsh area.

Shields was arrested a week later.

Officers then linked him to two burglaries which had taken place in the town earlier that week.

The first, on March 23, saw Shields smash a rear door to a property in West Melton before stealing a Dell laptop and a designer watch.

Two days later, he broke into a property in Munsbrough before stealing a Playstation, a Samsung phone, bank cards and £10 in cash.

Shields, of no fixed abode, was handed a four year sentence after being charged with theft from a motor vehicle, two counts of burglary, fraud, making off without paying and handling stolen goods.

He appeared before Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, May 1.

Detective Constable Joanne Wilson, who led the investigation said: “Burglary is such an intrusive crime and can have a bigger impact than people think.

"Many people are already facing a great deal of worry at the moment and through his actions, Shields really added to that.

“I am satisfied with the sentence he has received and hope the public are reassured that we treat burglary as an absolute priority here in Rotherham.

"We are sharing intelligence, tracing people carrying out offences and bringing them before the courts.”