A set of dentures, someone’s lunch and a patient trolley are among the items stolen from Ipswich Hospital in the last five years.

A Freedom of Information request by The Star revealed that since 2009, 95 items have been reported stolen from the Heath Road trust.

Along with more traditional items – cash, wallets, laptops, mobile phones and handbags – items including a pair of dentures, somebody’s lunch, a patient trolley, tins of coffee and tea, and a desk fan were also pinched.

Hospital spokeswoman Jan Ingle said that in the last five years the number of incidents of theft had fallen.

“We are the size of a small town with around 8,000 people on site each day,” she said. “When we consider that and look at the number of thefts it is very reassuring to see that given the size of the hospital and how busy we are, the number of thefts are relatively small.

“But one theft is one too many, especially if it is from somebody who is poorly and vulnerable.

“We take every step to make sure people are protected but of course it is an open place and sadly what happens in the community also happens in the hospital.

“We have got 24-7 security advisors and we work very closely with our local police safer neighbourhood teams to raise awareness about how to keep property safe.”