Police probe after gas canisters stolen from Staffordshire hospitals
Gas cylinders have been stolen from two Staffordshire hospitals prompting a police investigation.
Staffordshire Police warned people of the dangers of using the pressurised canisters.
Police say a storage room at Stafford's County Hospital was forced and two gas cylinders containing oxygen were stolen.
The burglary took place at around 1.35am on Wednesday.
This follows an attempted burglary at Cannock Chase Hospital at around 12.30am on the same day.
An unknown offender had attempted to gain access to an outbuilding used for storage.
Police say the incidents follow a break-in at Cannock Chase Hospital at the weekend.
Three men wearing dark clothing forced entry into a storage room and stole 13 bottles of nitrous oxide.
They escaped in a silver Peugeot 307 following the burglary at around 1.15am last Saturday.
A police spokesman said: "Nitrous oxide can be a dangerous substance if it is misused or consumed without medical supervision.
"The content of the canisters cannot be verified and any attempt to interfere with the pressurised cylinders may result in serious injury if they are not handled correctly."
Anyone with information or spotting the discarded cylinders is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 139 of 4 April or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
