Hospital thief is jailed for 33 months

Dean Walker, of Sycamore Avenue, Wickersley, stole a cash box containing £30 from a vending machine at Sheffield’s Weston Park Hospital.

The 34-year-old, who was found guilty of theft and burglary at Sheffield Crown Court, also stole a handbag and purse from a staff room at Rotherham Hospital.

He was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120 and given a five-year anti-social behaviour order banning him from hospitals except for medical emergencies or appointments.

PC Christopher Wright said: “Walker is a career criminal who has abused the trusting environment of NHS hospitals in order to prey on its ill residents and hard working staff.”