SLEEPING in her hospital bed an 80-year-old woman thought she would be safe but when she woke the next day she found she had been robbed.

Her priceless sovereign necklace, which her four sons had given her 15 years ago, had been taken from a zipped up pocket in her handbag and £40 was missing from her purse.

And Rita Greenfield, of Bankfoot Road, Downham, is telling her story so it serves as a warning to other people when they are admitted to hospital.

She had taken off her necklace so she could have a chest x-ray after being admitted to the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough, suffering from breathing problems.

And when she was taken to Medical Ward 9 the lockable locker by her bed was closed and there was no key to open it so she decided to put it her jewellery in her bag by her side.

Waking briefly during the night the widow says she saw a woman with her hand on the bag at the bottom of the bed.

And when she awoke the next day she realised her gold necklace and the money was missing.

Mrs Greenfield said: “It’s the one piece of jewellery I really treasured.

“I’m more concerned about making people aware about what’s going on in the hospital; it’s frightening.

“You go into hospital and feel safe and secure and health wise you are but if they take you into hospital they have to accept some sort of responsibility.

“It would have taken the staff less than a minute when I arrived at the ward to ask ‘Have you got any valuables to be put in the safe?’”

The police were called but Mrs Greenfield, who used to work for Bromley Health Authority as a linen and sewing services manager until retiring 10 years ago, says they told her there is not much they can do.

She added: “I would say the woman was around a size 12 or 14 but there was a light shining behind her so I could not describe her face.

“I have bells on my purse so if she had done it in front of my bed I would have woken up.

“She must have done it in the bathroom then brought the bag back to my bed.

“It’s just a bloody shame.”

A King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: “The safety and security of our patients is a top priority and we take these claims very seriously. “There is currently an on-going police investigation and we are assisting them with this.

“Thefts are rare within our hospitals, but patients are encouraged not to bring any expensive items or large amounts of money to hospital if they can avoid it.

“As part of our commitment to patient safety and security, we will continue to campaign to raise awareness about these issues, this includes raising the visibility of the security team at the Princess Royal University Hospital.”

There have been 33 allegations of theft at the PRUH made to police in the last 12 months – from patients and staff.