AN OPPORTUNIST entered a hospital rest room and stole the handbags of nurses who were caring for patients on a nearby ward.

Bosses at Medway Maritime Hospital at Gillingham alerted police and immediately issued an urgent warning to staff on all wards, telling them to be extra vigilant.

Now security is being reviewed and a security keypad is being fitted to the door of the nurses rest room on Phoenix ward where the thefts happened.

The thief stole two handbags and the entire contests of a third bag. They belong to two regular nurses and an agency nurse.

The property is understood to include, money, credit cards and possibly items of jewellery.