An unmanned ambulance was involved in an emergency of its own making earlier this month when it “accidentally” rolled out of Abergavenny’s Ambulance Station and went crashing into the car of a devastated local couple.

When Mr and Mrs Lloyd moved into their new home in Hatherleigh Road at the end of July they were enjoying the honeymoon period of not just moving into a new house, but one they had built from scratch.

Yet on the morning of September 3, their bubble of contentment was burst when five tons of emergency vehicle burst unexpectedly from the Ambulance Station opposite, rolled down a grass verge, toppled off a four foot wall, crossed Union Road West and went ploughing into their beloved 11-year-old Audi Avant parked just inside the grounds of their Hatherleigh home.

Richard Lloyd, 42, told the Chronicle, “When it happened I was at work, but my wife was pegging out the washing when she first saw the ambulance leaving the station.

“At first she didn’t pay much attention to it because living in such close proximity to the ambulance station, we’re used to their comings and goings.”

However, this was no authorized call-out but something a lot more unusual, as Mr Lloyd and his wife were soon to discover.

“My wife realised something was not quite right when the car alarm sounded followed by an almighty crash. And not long after she called me at work and I came rushing back to try and find exactly what was going on.”

Mr Lloyd added, “From what I can gather, when the night crew finished their shift, they parked the ambulance at the station ready for the day crew to take over, but it transpired on this particular occasion the ambulance in question didn’t have its handbrake engaged and had been left in drive mode.

“As a consequence when a member of the day crew arrived on the scene and began to make a stock check of the medical supplies and equipment in the back of the ambulance, their movement was enough to initiate movement in the ambulance, which soon gathered momentum and ended up smashing into our car.”

It later transpired that the crew member in the back of the ambulance managed to jump out of the moving vehicle before it hit Mr Lloyd’s car and suffered damage to his ribs during his fall.

Although Mr Lloyd is thankful that no-one was seriously hurt during the incident, he has emphasised that the entire episode has left him a little bit bitter that it should happen in the first place, and believes more should be done to prevent it happening again.

“First off I’d like to stress that this incident shouldn’t detract from the great work that the ambulance crews do, but being the father of a seven-year-old girl, I can’t help worrying what if a young child or old person had been walking on the pavement outside when it happened. Would they have heard or seen anything and been able to move in time?

“There are also other cars which travel at speed on Union Road West. One could easily have crashed into or been hit by the ambulance.

“Additionally, only a short time before the accident and prior to the house nearing completion, my family and I had been living in a caravan situated just behind the car. What would have happened to us if the ambulance had crashed into the caravan instead of the car?”

My Lloyd added, “I’ve had to use my own insurance to cover the damage to my car, and although I’m not seeking personal gain from this incident, some sort of acknowledgement from the Welsh Ambulance Service of the upset this episode has caused would have been nice.

“We’ve spent a long time building this house and now that we’ve finally moved in, this incident has detracted from the pleasure of the overall experience and made us worry that something similar could happen again.”

Welsh Ambulance Service Chief Executive Tracy Myhill, apologised to Mr Lloyd on behalf of the Welsh Ambulance Service and said the organisation had already put in training work at Abergavenny ambulance station to prevent something like this happening again.

She said, “I have been in contact with Mr Lloyd and a senior member of staff has also visited him at home. This was a most unfortunate incident and I have apologised to Mr Lloyd for the upset this incident undoubtedly caused.

“I have asked my team to ensure that we are doing everything we can to make sure something of this kind cannot happen again, including by installing parking bollards at the station. We are also ensuring that staff across Wales are reminded of the importance of driving, and parking, with care and consideration.

“We are acutely aware of our responsibilities and want to be a good neighbour to people who live close to our ambulance stations. Clearly, this incident has damaged Mr Lloyd’s faith in us and we are in contact with him to come to a mutually acceptable resolution of the issues he raises.

“I would like to reiterate my offer to Mr Lloyd to meet with me, although I understand that, at this stage, he feels unable to do so.”

Mr Lloyd added, “Admittedly there is a comic side to this story, but by the same token it’s also deadly serious. A car crashing into your property is something that can happen, but you never believe in a million years the people who you expect to save you in an emergency will be the cause of it.

“Hopefully now that the story is in the public domain, the necessary actions will soon be put into place to prevent it ever happening again.”