A FANTASIST put people’s lives at risk by speeding round Hampshire in a makeshift ambulance, a court heard.

David Maclean was described as living in a “dangerous fantasy world” racing around the county with a fake siren and blue flashing light on his car as he pretended to be part of the emergency services.

The 31-year-old was arrested after racking up a catalogue of driving offences, from speeding on the wrong side of the road, to racing through red lights, in a car that was packed with police equipment and fake signs.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard that when officers searched Maclean’s Ford Mondeo they found stab vests and assorted police tools, including handcuffs.

The car had a “tactical ambulance” sign on the rear and inside the boot there was a “search and rescue” sign.

The court was told Maclean was arrested on several charges relating to the string of driving offences committed on March 27, including driving without due care and attention.

This related to Maclean driving down the wrong side of Jewry Street in Winchester, where he drove around a blind corner.

He refused to answer any questions when caught as to whether he had medical qualifications or a reason to be driving in a dangerous manner.

Prosecutor David Orman said: “You are a fantasist, who is out impersonating a member of the emergency services – you are living in a dangerous fantasy world.

“You have taken it upon yourself to behave in a manner consistent with that of the emergency services and in doing so you are putting members of the public in danger. “I suggest you have taken matters too far and you behave in a way that is a danger to the public.”

Maclean, of Victoria Road, Southampton, admitted thirteen driving offences, including speeding, using a prohibited flashing light and failing to comply with a stop sign but denied using a motor vehicle without thirdparty insurance, using a vehicle without a licence and driving without due care and attention.

He said he had not cooperated with police because he had encountered problems with them before and insisted that his driving was safe and that he was being guided by an instructor at the time of the offences.

As previously reported, Maclean won an appeal in 2010 to get his conviction quashed for dressing in a uniform that would make the public believe he was a real officer.

Maclean told magistrates his Ford Mondeo was a private ambulance and he worked for a company which responded to emergencies.

Insisting that he was qualified to use defibrillators and administer pain relief, he said: “There’s a lot of animosity between me and the police.”

Speaking about his driving on Jewry Street he said: “I could see a reflection in the glass front of the shops and I could see there were no pedestrians – there was noone going across and there was no-one on the corner so my feeling was right. That’s how everyone is trained to do it.”

District Judge Anthony Callaway found Maclean guilty of the three charges he denied, and adjourned sentencing until November 4.

David Maclean and ATRAKS

IN 2009 David Maclean set up a private security force on the streets of Shirley, offering protection for £3.15 a week.

Called Atraks, the service said it could offer 60 dedicated patrols each day in each community that signed up, provide escorts to take people to banks and shops, respond to alarms and even provide dog handlers to disperse street gangs.

A year later Maclean was fined for impersonating a police officer as a result of the work done by Atraks but later had his conviction quashed after it was determined he could not be proven to be pretending to be a member of the police force.