A health service van carrying sensitive information has been stolen from a Kent surgery.

The driver of the vehicle walked into the surgery in Cheriton Road, Folkestone, and when he returned to unload the van it was gone.

Vans run between William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and local GP surgeries twice daily transporting patient samples and letters between consultants and doctors.

Despite the potentially sensitive nature of what is on the vehicle staff at the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust want to assure patients not to worry.

Clinical director of pathology for the trust Dr Ruth Lapworth, said: "The information is not really useful to anyone else but it could be sensitive.

~ Listen: Dr Lapworth spoke to kmfm about the theft >>>

"There could well be some information in there in terms of correspondence between consultants at the hospital and GPs. We are assuming whoever stole it did not know what was in the van."

Dr Lapworth said she is amazed the distinctive van has not been found yet. The theft took place on Monday lunchtime.