Drink drive 999 instructor quits

A Devon ambulance driver training instructor has resigned after he was caught drink driving.

Jonathon Knight, 33, of Beaumont Road, Plymouth was stopped by police as he drove his own car and had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol.

In August he admitted driving while under the influence of alcohol and was immediately suspended by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

The service said it had a zero tolerance approach to drink driving.

Chief 'shocked'

On 28 August, the day after Knight was stopped in Plymouth, city magistrates fined him £350 and disqualified from driving for 17 months.

He has now resigned his post as a training manager, teaching staff how to drive emergency vehicles at a training college in Plymouth.

Ken Wenman, chief executive of the ambulance trust, said: "I can assure members of the public that this is a rare, isolated incident.

"I was both shocked and disappointed to learn of this, and it is extremely fortunate that no-one was hurt.

"Drink driving is totally unacceptable and there is simply no excuse for this behaviour, especially from emergency services personnel."