Hunt for Ambulance Raiders Continues Date: Thursday, May 06, 2010 Source: SecurityOracle.com

Greater Manchester Police are still hunting a prisoner who was released by a terrified guard escorting him to hospital after a gang ambushed his ambulance. It is believed that Michael O'Donnell (pictured), who had been on remand awaiting sentence for conspiracy to rob and commit burglary, had cut off part of his ear in his cell. He had been en route for medical treatment when the vehicle in which he was travelling was stopped by four masked men who emerged from a stolen BMW. They smashed the ambulance windows and used bolt-cutters to reach O'Donnell in the back. According to police, the 28-year-old had been escorted from his cell by three officers after calling for help at around 0130 on Sunday, May 2. He told staff he had been injured in an accident and they called an ambulance. The vehicle was forced to stop having left Forest Bank prison in Salford. Ian Hopkins, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, said "Officers from the major incident team, who usually investigate murders, are working round the clock now following up a number of lines of inquiry to try to find O'Donnell. "This was a terrifying attack on an ambulance. O'Donnell had been warned by a judge that he was facing a long prison sentence." Police believe the convicted criminal had made a significant amount of money as the ringleader of a gang behind a string of vehicle thefts and house raids across Manchester over a two-year period. He was due to be sentenced later this month and it is thought he could face up to a decade behind bars. Courtesy of SecurityOracle.com - The Secury Industry's Portal