A POOLE Hospital A&E nurse was left devastated after her new mountain bike was stolen from a secure compound.

Rebekah Everett, 22, had only had her turquoise and white Cube bike for six weeks and is faced with having to pay off the £350 cost for months to come.

"I used it to get to work," said Rebekah, who lives at Orchard Plaza in Poole High Street and could see her bike in the locked compound from her window.

But thieves struck while she was on holiday for a week, returning to find locks had been cut and her only mode of transport missing.

"I'm absolutely gutted," she said. "So upset".

She bought the bike under the NHS Cycle to Work Scheme and had only made one £29 monthly payment before losing her precious wheels.

"It's so frustrating because I was using it every day to get to and from work," she said.

"I am having to walk at the moment," she said. "It's a bit of a nightmare. I work 13-hour shifts and it was such an easy way to get to and from work. After a nightshift it only took me 10 minutes to get home."

She has reported the loss to the police and security at the complex is trawling through CCTV but she says she has little hope of getting her bike back. Her new model bike was the only one that disappeared.

She has only lived there for eight months and is soon to move house and would have included the bike on her home insurance.

"It has always been really safe here," she said. "I was quite shocked. It is a nice complex to live in. It's such a shame."

Rebekah said she has removed the saddle from the bike as a precaution but the bike was stolen without it. "I don't expect I shall see it again," she said.

However she appealed for anyone who sees the bike or is offered one like it to contact Dorset Police on 101.