A lovesick Italian man stole an ambulance so he could serenade his girlfriend with its siren.

　　The 38-year-old man, who has not been named by police, jumpedsintosthe empty ambulance after he spotted the keys in the ignition. He drove to his girlfriend's flat in Jesi, near Ancona, switched on the siren and began singing romantic love songs. Police were called by neighbours complaining about the noise and arrested the man.

　　A police spokesman said: "This has to be one of the most bizarre cases we have ever had to deal with. When we asked him why he had taken the ambulance he was quite open and said he wanted to serenade his girlfriend.

　　"He said he couldn't play any instrument, and he wanted a memorable way to romance the girl. Ufortunately his idea didn't go down well with the neighbours or the hospital, who wanted their ambulance back immediately."