A heartless thief who preyed on hospital patients stealing their money and mobile phones has been jailed today at Manchester Crown Court.
John McNeil’s victims were all in hospital, one was having surgery and he even stole from a terminally ill patient.
The 24-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to five counts of theft and was sentenced to three years in prison.
The incidents began at Manchester Royal Infirmary on February 11, when an IPhone 4S was stolen from a patient’s bed and a purse belonging to a terminally ill patient containing £123 was stolen.
McNeil then moved onto Salford Royal, when he stole a mobile phone and wallets containing cash from a drawer on one of the wards while a patient was having surgery on February 15, and on February 21 took £100.
PC Steven Hughes said: “The victims were either patients at the hospital and therefore extremely vulnerable, or staff who work tirelessly to care for these people and who do not expect to find themselves a victim of crime after their shift.
“McNeil has repeatedly, deliberately and maliciously targeted these individuals, wandering the corridors and striking at any given opportunity.
“While the items he has taken were effectively of very little worth, the impact on the victims cannot be understated.”
CCTV footage was released of the culprit in an effort to identify the suspect after staff at Salford Royal and Manchester Royal noticed items had been stolen.
McNeil was arrested and charged when a police officer recognised him from the footage.
Adrian Yates, on behalf of the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are saddened that someone could do this to patients when they are at their most vulnerable in hospital.
“We take the security of property and the personal safety of our patients and staff very seriously and have many measures in place to ensure we provide as safe an environment as possible.”
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