A student paramedic who has just become a father for the third time is appealing for help after the bike he gets to work on was stolen from Stoke Ambulance Hub.

The thieves entered the Hub, broke the lock on the bike and then rode off as an ambulance left the hub.

The incident happened at around 4.50pm on Bank Holiday Monday as Liam Ticehurst, from Leek, was out responding to patients on an emergency ambulance.

CCTV footage showed the thieves taking the bike, a Merida Reacto 5000, which has an Ultegra group set, disk breaks and Fulcrum wheels with 25mm tyres and is worth around £2,500.

Senior Operations Manager, Nic Gunn, said: "The thieves were clearly targeting the bike as they went straight to it. They were spotted by a member of staff who gave chase, but they cycled down Forge Lane, down onto the canal and were last seen near the Royal Mail depot. They were wearing hoodies and had surgical masks on to cover their identity.

"I'd appeal for anyone who was driving in the area at the time and might have dash cam footage that would be useful to please contact Staffordshire Police.

"It does beggar belief that someone would stoop so low. Stoke Hub is clearly an ambulance station, and everyone knows what our staff do and how hard they work to try and save lives, yet these people repay that hard work by stealing Liam's bike. It couldn't have come at a worse time for him and his partner too."

Liam added: "I use the bike to ride in from Leek for each shift to save a bit of cash given the rising cost of living and the arrival of my new baby daughter, who was born at the end of July. 

"The bike also holds real sentimental value to me as I bought it from money left to me by my grandmother, who passed away suddenly a couple of years ago. As a keen cyclist, I think my nan would have liked the idea of me getting the bike and especially how I was using it to get to work. It really is devastating that both the bike and the link to my nan have gone."

Anyone with any information about the whereabouts of the bike or knows who might have been involved in its theft is asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 101 stating Log 540 of the 29th August. The bike serial number is WC8201099R.