Police are looking to trace the person responsible for placing a sharp object under the wheel of the emergency vehicle.

Between 1.30am and 5.30am on Saturday a man was seen acting suspiciously outside Sudbury ambulance station in Acton Lane.

A member of staff received a 999 call to a patient in Sudbury just before 5.30am. However, when he drove off, one of the vehicle’s tyres was punctured and the damage was immediately reported. Thankfully, the response to the patient was not delayed as a double staffed ambulance attended.

However, the incident put the car out of action until the damage was repaired just after 1pm on Saturday.

Suffolk Police have begun inquiries into the offence of causing danger to road users and are appealing for information.

Matt Broad, Locality Director for Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, said: “It is appalling that someone has carried out this mindless damage, which could have had disastrous implications had the tyre failed suddenly at high speed.

“This incident put a rapid response vehicle out of service for several hours, which reduced the number of resources we had to attend to patients in Suffolk on Saturday.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Pc Guy Morris at Suffolk Police on 101.