THE crew of a private ambulance told an inquest they ran for their lives after a mental health patient grabbed the wheel of their vehicle.

Patient Michael South, 40, from York, drove off in the Peugeot ambulance, later colliding with a double decker bus containing 16 people, and another vehicle.

Mr South died in the crash on the A64 at Flaxton, between York and Malton. The driver of the bus suffered serious leg injuries and five other people were treated for minor injuries.

At an inquest into Mr South’s death is being held by North Yorkshire East coroner Michael Oakley at Bedale Hall, the crew told the court they did not have training with mental health issues.

Lauren Clark, who was training to be an ambulance care assistant with the private ambulance contractor ERS, said they had picked Mr South up from St James Hospital in Leeds on April 10, 2015, transferring him to the mental health unit at Bootham Hospital in York.

But as they approached Askham Bryan on the A64 she said Mr South had been looking at her strangely. She looked away through the window when suddenly he shouted "I can hear voices” and grabbed the wheel of the vehicle, which was being driven by David Winterton.

“As Dave braked I got my belt off and got out and shut the door,” said Ms Clark.

When asked by Mr Oakley why she failed to do anything to stop Mr South she replied: "I didn’t know what to do, we are trained to get ourselves out of danger first.”

Mr Winterton told the hearing the first he knew of any problems was when he heard Mr South shouting, before the patient grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and tried to pull the vehicle off the road.

He said he slammed on the brakes and brought the ambulance to a halt. He jumped out telling Ms Clark to jump out as well, leaving the keys in the ignition.

“It all happened within 15 seconds I thought our lives were in danger,” said Mr Winterton.

The inquest had been told earlier Mr South had a long history of depression, suffering from bipolar disorder. He was admitted to St James Hospital after stabbing himself in the chest on April 7, 2015.

The inquest continues.