This is the shocking moment thieves use a stolen animal ambulance to ram raid a shop – causing more than £20,000 worth of damage.
CCTV shows Bailey Omar and Dillyn Sherrington repeatedly smashing the specialist veterinary vehicle into the front of a convenience store in a bid to force their way inside.
The £20,000 ambulance belonged to veterinary practice Blythman & Partners and was normally used to transport sick and injured pets.
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It had been left at a car wash while its owner was on holiday when the crooks struck in the early hours of 1 July, as reported by Need To Know.
Footage first shows the pair getting into the vehicle before driving it away.
Just hours later, the ambulance was used as a battering ram during a raid on a shop in Newcastle.
Dramatic CCTV captures the vehicle repeatedly reversing into the premises as the thieves attempt to smash their way inside.
The raid caused extensive damage, leaving the shop facing a repair bill of more than £20,000.
The animal ambulance was also badly damaged and had to be written off.
Omar, 23, of Pease Avenue, Benwell, Newcastle, and Sherrington, 19, of Trevelyan Drive, Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, were later brought before the courts.
Both pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal damage and aggravated vehicle taking.
Sherrington also admitted possession of a Class B controlled drug.
The pair returned to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing on 18 September.
Omar was jailed for 38 months and disqualified from driving for two years and 11 months.
Sherrington was sentenced to 30 months in a young offenders institution and banned from driving for two years and nine months.
Both were also ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.
The animal ambulance has since been replaced, but the veterinary practice was left counting the cost of losing the specialist vehicle used to transport animals needing treatment.
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