Update 12.30pm - Added donation link

Vandals broke into an ambulance and stole medical supplies from St John's Ambulance service this weekend, the organisation has said. 

Thieves made off with an automated external defibrillator, a generator, power wash, air compressor, oxygen regulators and various tools and consumables after breaking into the ambulance service's yard.  

The organisation shared news of the theft on Facebook.

Ambulance service assistant commissioner Reuben Attard told Times of Malta that volunteers discovered the damage on Saturday morning. Thieves had broken the lock on a front gate to access the yard and then forced an ambulance's door open, Mr Attard said. 

The organisation has yet to quantify the value of the losses, he said. Police had been informed and were now investigating. 

Mr Attard said the organisation had never been robbed before and that members were now trying to work out how to continue operating in the wake of the costly blow. 

In a Facebook post, the organisation reminded its backers that it relied on donations to keep its service going. The theft and vandalism, it said, meant the organisation's capacity had been "given a hard blow".  

St John's Ambulance is a voluntary organisation established by Queen Victoria back in 1888 in the UK.  

Its volunteers run medical training courses, an ambulance service as well as a rescue corps.  

For details on how to donate to the service, visit their website.