SNEAK thieves stole vital sat nav equipment from an ambulance parked outside Accident and Emergency at Burnley General Hospital - as paramedics dropped off a patient.

The theft has been condemned as despicable' by police and emergency services who said lives could have been put at risk.

Paramedics left the ambulance at 5.30pm on Saturday to admit a 67-year-old man from Colne who had suffered serious head injuries.

Police said as the ambulance crew were inside the hospital the thieves broke into the back to steal an electronic record book and through to the cab from where they took a satellite navigation system.

Derek Cartwright, NWAS director for Cumbria and Lancashire, said: "NWAS, particularly here in Lancashire, has been at the forefront of developing systems which speed up and improve the way we can treat patients and ultimately this means lives are saved.

"But it doesn't matter how good or efficient our systems are if the hardware we need to run them keeps being stolen and, as long as people think it is acceptable to break into ambulances - in this case one which is parked outside the A&E Department of a hospital - that will always be the case.

"This type of crime affects only one section of the public - the sick and the weak - but there are obviously people out there who feel this is a group which can be exploited."

He added: "Having equipment stolen from a vehicle causes a huge inconvenience to the service, as well as the financial implications.

"The screen is totally useless when removed from the vehicle and would have no value to the perpetrator. But it will cost the Ambulance Service £2,000 to replace the satellite navigation alone as well as the time lost taking the vehicle out of circulation for repairs and refitting.

"We are here to serve the people of the north west and our crews save lives on a daily basis. It is intolerable that they have to look over their shoulder in this way.

"The act is purely one of vandalism as there is no gain whatsoever by the perpetrators."

Insp Damian Darcy, of Burnley Police, said: "It's despicable that somebody stoops so low to steal from an ambulance whose paramedics are trying to save somebody's life, and stealing equipment vital to saving lives.

"I would appeal to anybody who has any information about it, or knows where the property is, to contact police as soon as possible."

Lancashire is the only area in the country to have the fully integrated ePR (electronic patient record) system, which allows a patient's data to transfer within five seconds from the initial phone-call to the nearest crew. It also sets off the satellite navigation to the patient's location, saving vital time.

The system will roll-out nationally over the next few years.

Anyone with information about the theft should contact Sgt Steve Holgate on 01282 472121.