A MAN who targeted the vehicles of emergency workers in a hospital car park has been jailed for 12 months.

Callum Wood was charged with four counts of attempted theft from a motor vehicle and possession of a bladed article, after an incident in a car park at James Cook University Hospital on Sunday at around 2:30pm.

And the jailing of the 31-year-old, of Rothbury Road, Middlesbrough, has been welcomed by Cleveland Police.

Detective Constable Elizabeth Malcolm, from Middlesbrough CID, said: “At a time of national crisis, this man has broken into vehicles belonging to NHS staff and tried to steal from them.

"It’s appalling that anyone would do this at any time, let alone when our NHS colleagues are working flat out and putting themselves at risk for others.

“Coupled with Callum Wood’s previous offending, he was quite rightly sentenced to 3 months consecutive for each offence, a total of 12 months imprisonment.

"We welcome the sentence and want to warn anyone else who thinks it is acceptable to behave in such a manner, or who causes fear or harm in the current climate, we will find those responsible and we will prosecute them.”