Fire service slams man's 'reckless' Gosport engine hitch

A man has been labelled "reckless" after he was captured riding on the back of a fire engine.

The man ran and jumped on to the vehicle as it travelled along Forton Road in Gosport on Thursday afternoon.

He was filmed by a passenger in a van as he held on for about six minutes.

Responding to the footage, the fire service said: "This was reckless behaviour which could have led to serious injuries or worse."

Engineer Steve Ridley was driving the van behind the fire engine when it happened as he drove home from work.

He said he saw the man sprint into the middle of the road before leaping on to the fire engine.

"The amount of effort he was putting into holding on... it would've been much easier to walk," he said.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service added: "We know that most people understand that this kind of behaviour is dangerous and would not copy it."

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the matter had not been reported to the force and it would "not be pursuing further action".

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