A THOUGHTLESS theft has deprived a doctor of important records on child patients.

On Wednesday night, thieves broke into the children's unit of Bishop Auckland hospital by levering open a window with a spade and stealing a paediatrician's laptop from his office, which contained all his medical records on children with diabetes.

Dr Bill Lamb stressed that patients should not be alarmed, as the confidential information was encrypted and password protected, but he has been devastated by the loss of what he describes as "priceless" information.

"There were hundreds and hundreds of records of blood sugar levels that were collected over a long period of time and were helpful in looking after the kids.

"The laptop was a piece of electronic equipment; the device itself was immaterial. What really matters is the information on the laptop.

"At the end of the day, they'll get hardly any money for it.

"When I found out about the theft I just thought of all the information that I'd been using to help young people with. That's what I'm really upset about.

"Nobody else can use this information, but I can't either now."

A lot of the records are stored on back-up discs, but Dr Lamb used the computer in a variety of day to day jobs, such as creating print-outs of blood sugar levels for young people to take home.

The Toshiba laptop had a hospital sticker, but was stolen without the power supply, and a password is also required to log into the computer.

Detective Sergeant Peter Hutchinson, of Bishop Auckland police said: "The computer is very valuable to Dr Lamb but nobody else can use it."

Anyone has been offered a Toshiba laptop, or knows anybody that has, should contact the police on (01388) 603566.