Man arrested after equipment was stolen from a children’s cancer ward

The 37-year-old man was arrested in Keighley on Thursday after a mobile phone, laptops and other equipment was stolen from Leeds General Infirmary.

The man was later bailed pending further inquiries and the phone and a laptop have been recovered, West Yorkshire Police said.

Inspector Richard Clarke, of Leeds City Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We are very much aware of the high level of public interest in these offences given the location in which they have occurred and we are conducting a full and comprehensive investigation into them.

“The arrest of this man and the recovery of some of the stolen items are significant developments and we will be continuing our inquiries to establish the full circumstances and take positive action.

“We are very grateful to all the members of the public who have assisted us with information but we would ask that people exercise caution, particularly around what information they post on social media that could potentially impact on our active investigation.”

It is believed some of the equipment was stolen from an area of the ward operated by the Candlelighters children’s cancer charity.

The charity, which provides support to children with cancer and their families in Yorkshire, posted a message on Facebook on earlier this week.

It said: “A sad day at Candlelighters. We now have to replace four laptops and a DVD player in our pavilion. Stolen some time in the past few days.

“We love being able to make the stay in hospital a little easier for our families, so please accept our apologies and we will fix it very soon.

“The police are aware and we are providing a full list of items stolen, I will share the link on their page when its up, we may get them back if they are offered for sale. Fingers crossed.”

The message prompted an angry response from Facebook users, with many offering donations of equipment and money.

The charity confirmed that one of the laptops had been returned by police and thanked people for their “generous” offers.

It said: “We have been overwhelmed with messages of support following the theft of IT equipment from Ward 31.

“We are pleased to share that one of the laptops has now been returned by the police, but we are still on the lookout for the remaining stolen items.”