A patient in a wheelchair was robbed by thieves who “forced him into a toilet” on a hospital ward.
Lancashire Police said the man, who is in his 40s, was shoved into a cubicle near the main entrance by three people.
The group then threatened the man and stole cash from his pockets at Royal Preston Hospital on November 17, 2023.
The police have since identified three men they want to speak to in connection to the incident.
The incident took place at Royal Preston Hospital
PAOfficers, who thanked the public for their help, located the trio after a public appeal.
The force released CCTV images of the three men and issued the following statement: “We know that some time has passed, and investigations have been ongoing since the incident.
“But we are now asking for your help as we believe the people in these images may be able to help with our investigation. If you know who they are, contact 101 quoting the log number 1068 of 20th November 2023 or email 842@lancashire.police.uk.”
One of the men was wearing a white coat, a blue scarf and a cap.
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Another man was wearing a black hoodie with a hat while the third had a blue puffer jacket over a pale blue shirt.
In December, two men who stole a child’s electric wheelchair and dumped it a skip were jailed for six months each.
Ryan Goulding, 35, and Ross Johnson, 26, stole the chair from its storage space outside a home in Lancashire, Barrow in Furness, on March 5 2023.
When the child’s mother realised the £2,000 wheelchair was missing, she quickly began asking neighbours if they had seen anything.
CCTV captured the pair stealing the specialised equipment, however the duo said that they do not remember the incident as they were extremely intoxicated at the time.
Ryan Goulding, 35, and Ross Johnson, 26, stole a six-year-old child's wheelchair
Cumbria Police
The six-year-old child was left without a wheelchair for two weeks due to the incident and they were unable to go outside.
They also had to undergo physiotherapy as a result of having to walk more than normal whilst they did not have the chair.
Judge Sarah O'Brien, sentencing, said: “That wheelchair belonged to a child who needed it because she had a number of health conditions and her life was made immeasurably more difficult because of you taking it. Johnson used the wheelchair and it was later found damaged in a skip.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves. This seems to have been committed on impulse in a moment of stupidity.”
