FIVE years of medical records were stolen from a car parked in Bournemouth over the bank holiday weekend.

The car was one of four raided by thieves sometime between the night of Good Friday and the early hours of the following morning in the Durley Chine area.

And Rachel Leitch-Devlin said she is desperate to have half a decade of medical notes returned to her after losing the information in the burglary.

She said: "A number of cars were broken into on the Friday night - two in Durley Gardens, another one parked by Hotel Riviera and another one on the sea front.

"My car had two of its windows smashed. The thing that's really worrying and upsetting me is that a TK Maxx bag with my medical records in was taken from inside the car. There were about 10 folders in the plastic bag on the back seat. I just want those returned to me, and I'd be willing to offer a small reward for their safe return if that was helpful."

Rachel said the folders are "irreplaceable".

"I have several medical conditions, and I have been treated by several doctors, so it really is so important that the documents are returned to me," she said.

"I have an appointment booked and so I decided to spend the bank holiday weekend going over my records myself. My car windows are tinted at the back so no one can see in. But it doesn't seem to have stopped whoever did this."

Rachel said she hopes the records might still be returned to her, adding: "I have a very distinctive name, and the documents are no use to anyone else, so I just hope that they've been dumped somewhere.

"That means that someone might find them and return them to me. They're obviously full of private information about me, and it's just awful to think that they're gone. They are hugely important to me."

Among the items in the files was information relating to Rachel's bank accounts.

She said: "There were bank statements in there too - I contacted my bank straight away to alert them.

"It's just very worrying."