Warning after hospital thefts

There have been eight thefts since the beginning of this year - in one particularly bad case nearly £700 was stolen from a woman patient.

In other cases wedding rings, watches and jewellery were targeted by the thieves said PC Trent McMurray, of Warwick police.

PC McMurray said: “Since April last year we have recorded 19 thefts - eight of them in past five months.

“Obviously when patients are rushed into hospital in an emergency they don’t have time to leave their valuables at home.

“But we want to remind the majority who are going in for non-emergency treatment not to take large amounts of money or precious rings, particularly as gold is selling for quite a high price these days.”

A hospital trust spokeswoman said: “We are currently working closely with Warwickshire Police which is investigating a number of thefts that have taken place at the hospital.

“We take any theft extremely seriously and want to keep our patients and their belongings safe at all times.

“There are a number of measures being taken to minimise the risk of thefts across the trust and we would encourage all patients not to bring in any valuables such as jewellery, watches or large amounts of cash.

“We appreciate that in
 an emergency this is not always possible and in these circumstances our ward staff will lock these away for safe-keeping.”