A dedicated young nurse has spoken about the moment she realised her car had been stolen after finishing an exhausting 12-hour A&E night shift treating coronavirus patients.
Tekesha Phillips had been looking forward to a hot shower and sleep after her shift at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, when she saw that crooks had targeted her Ford Fiesta Zetec.
The 22-year-old had spent a long night wearing full PPE amid the Covid-19 lockdown and when she returned to the residential street in Winsome Green her car had vanished overnight, BirminghamLive reports.
It wasn't until she saw shattered glass on the pavement and an empty space where her car was parked that she realised it had been stolen - leaving her stranded miles from her home.
She said: "I paced up and down the road questioning myself, thinking it was post night shift tiredness.
"Then I noticed glass on the floor where my car was parked.
"I had 3% battery left as I didn't get an opportunity to charge my phone on the shift and was pretty much stuck."
Luckily, a fellow nurse saw Tekesha in a 'confused and distressed' state and gave her a lift home.
She continued: "Instead of doing what anyone would want to do after such a long exhausting shift, I was forced to make various phone calls to the police, insurance and other services in case the thief was using the car for criminal activities."
Tekesha has set up a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for a new car as she fears using public transport could pose a safety risk during the pandemic.
West Midlands Police are investigating the theft.
Anyone with information should contact police via live chat on their website, 8am to midnight, or by calling 101 any time, quoting crime reference number 20BW/288828N/20.
The latest theft comes after a number of NHS workers told how their cars and bikes had been stolen from outside hospitals in Birmingham.
Nurse Faye Hatcliffe had her black BMW stolen from outside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on November 19.
Three days earlier NHS housekeeper Edyta Tomczak also fell victim outside the same Selly Oak hospital when thieves swiped his £270 bicycle.
Earlier this year, another A&E nurse at Heartlands Hospital revealed how she felt "violated" after her car was stripped of its parts in a separate incident.
Demi Murphy, from Marston Green, found her Toyota Aygo had been targeted outside the hospital after returning to it back in June.
The 24-year-old, who qualified as a registered staff nurse four-months ago, said the thieves smashed the driver's window which allowed them access to open the bonnet.
The entire front of the car, including the body bodywork, headlamps, engine parts and number plate, was stripped away.
She, too, was left without a means of transport to get to and from work to help her patients in the midst of the pandemic.
