Exclusive:Devastated elderly couple's car stolen from hospital during cancer appointment - with blue badge on display
Thieves have left a Sheffield couple “devastated” after their car was stolen from a hospital car park during a cancer scan.
“I understand times are hard, and that some people feel like they need to steal, but it is so much worse taking a vehicle from a car park where you know someone is either unwell themselves, or visiting a family member who is sick,” said Tony Purcell, 74.
Lynne, 75, who has been diagnosed with cancer, had driven to the Northern General Hospital for a CT scan two weeks ago.
After being injected with radioactive dye as part of the procedure, she returned to the car park to check on her silver Citroen Berlingo - but it had vanished.
“She had moved the car earlier that morning, so thought she’d double check where she’d moved it to,” Tony said.
For the next hour, Lynne scoured the car park outside the hospital, retracing her steps.
When she still couldn’t find the vehicle, she called a taxi and asked the driver to take her around surrounding car parks in case it had been left elsewhere.
With no luck, Lynne went home and Tony came back to the hospital to help her search.
Two weeks on, there has been no sign of the Berlingo, which Tony says has left them both “devastated.”
As Tony is also a wheelchair user, the car had a Blue Badge on display - something the couple said is priceless.
“As well as the car being stolen was the Blue Badge itself, that’s invaluable to us.
“We’ve also heard that there is a real black market for them, particularly in London.”
The theft left the couple temporarily without access to their badge.
While they were able to rely on a second Motability vehicle, it still significantly restricted them.
Tony said he has also heard that older vehicles like their Berlingo can be targeted for parts.
Despite this, the couple say what hurts most is where the theft took place.
“I understand people are desperate with the economic state of things right now, they feel like they need to steal, but stealing from a hospital car park — when you know people there are unwell — that makes it so much worse,” Tony said.
Andrew Jones, Facilities Director, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said:
“We are really sorry this has happened and the distress it will have caused Lynne and Tony.
“We have 81 CCTV cameras across our car parks, and we did report this incident to the police and shared the footage.
“Security officers also patrol the sites and car parks out of hours.
“We have had one other theft last October at the Northern General which was also reported to the police.
“Over the next 18 months we are upgrading our CCTV system to produce even higher resolution images which will help for evidential purposes, as well as introducing additional cameras.
“We also meet with the Police monthly to discuss theft, incidents, and response times.”
A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police added:
“On 5 February we received a report of a vehicle theft in Sheffield on the previous day (4 February).
“It is reported a silver Citroen Berlingo was stolen from near Northern General Hospital on Herries Road.
Following enquiries by officers, including exploring CCTV opportunities and potential witnesses, the decision was made to file the investigation pending new information coming to light.
“The vehicle owner was informed of this decision on 5 February.”