ReutersEarlier today, (July 8) you’ll have no doubt seen a story circulating about an ambulance car parked near London Bridge which was trampled and smashed by England fans having a little too much fun after our boys in Russia reached the country’s first semi final in nearly 30 years.
Naturally, the celebrations were as exuberant as you might expect of some notoriously wild England fans.
The problem was, this time, fans overstepped the mark by jumping up and down on an ambulance car, taking turns to trample on the vehicle, which was parked up on the road.
So bad was the damage, it needed to be taken off the road.
The London Ambulance Service tweeted in disgust, writing:
Obviously we are chuffed with the result this afternoon but there is absolutely NO excuse to vandalise emergency service vehicles by jumping on them…
This vehicle is now off the road and unable to respond to patients. We are better than this England…
Obviously we are chuffed with the result this afternoon but there is absolutely NO excuse to vandalise emergency service vehicles by jumping on them..
This vehicle is now off the road and unable to respond to patients.
We are better than this England…. pic.twitter.com/ZvfG50zjkw— Joint Response Unit (@LAS_JRU) July 7, 2018
Despite the sheer elation of the entire nation, they’ve got a point. Celebrating your team’s success is one thing. Vandalism is another. This senseless act overstepped the mark by quite a long way. It’s literally a public service vehicle which needs to be used to save people’s lives.
Anyway, such was the outcry, police are now asking for help in identifying some of the people who climbed on top of the vehicle.
While there was probably no malice, I think we can all agree it was very stupid of these people to do what they did.
Luckily for us, football fans have a conscience and so the Millwall Supporters’ Club have stepped up to start a fundraiser in order to repair the wrecked vehicle. The JustGiving page is aiming to raise more than £5000 in order to cover the costs of the repairs.
As if that wasn’t enough, if an insurance company decides to step up and cover the costs, the money raised will be donated to the London Ambulance Service. Lord knows our NHS needs all the help it can get at the moment.
ReutersThe page reads:
At the Millwall Supporters’ Club we think it is very important to help our local community so we want to help raise the funds to help with the repair of an emergency response vehicle that was damaged after the England v Sweden game in the World Cup 2018 quarter final. [sic]
We are very grateful for any donations and support you can offer.
If the insurance company pays for the repairs, all monies raised will be donated to the local ambulance service whose vehicle sustained this damage.
Pictures show dozens of fans gathered around the vehicle, taking turns to jump up and down on it, which caused the damage.
ReutersOne woman was seen flashing her chest while a Gareth Southgate impersonator could also be seen on top of the vehicle, lapping up the attention.
Eventually, police had to be called in order to surround the vehicle and make sure no one else could get on and cause even more damage.
Let’s hope the funds raised can help repair the vehicle and we can all go on and enjoy the rest of the World Cup without incidents like these marring it.
There’s wild celebrations and then there’s vandalism. It’s important to know the difference.
COME ON ENGLAND!
If you have a story you’d like to tell, contact UNILAD at [email protected]
Taking the idea of ‘being woke’ to a whole new level over a decade-long career in sport, court and online news, George has worked for titles and agencies including ESPN FC, Eurosport, LADbible and Court News UK. He may not have a degree but does have an unhealthy obsession with Lord of the Rings.