Thieves disguised themselves as medics before raiding staff lockers at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

The two men, who were smartly dressed in shirts and ties, broke into four staff lockers in the theatre staff changing room and swiped wallets, mobile phones, cash and credit cards.

The credit cards were then used to steal money from the bank accounts of the staff involved.

A memo circulated to staff by Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust says the men were posing as medics and were extremely plausible as they duped their way past security.

The trust says that although they did not possess trust ID badges, they appeared to be wearing NHS coloured lanyards around their necks.

And that has prompted the hospital's security team to issue a high priority action plan to deter the thieves from trying their luck again.

The memo sent out to trust employees has called on all workers to wear ID badges at all times, to challenge all people not wearing a relevant ID badge and to not allow people to "tailgate" members of staff.

The memo added: "The security team are going to be running a series of spot audits at various locations across the trust over the next few months to improve security levels.

"In addition to the actions above a trust-wide review of all levels of security access is going to be undertaken to ensure access levels are appropriate for all staff groups.

Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust spokesman Chris Birdsall described the thieves' actions as despicable.

He said staff and visitors have been told to report any people acting suspiciously.

He said: "It is a large building with thousands of visitors every day, but if any member of the public spots anyone acting suspiciously, please tell security.

"This was a cold and calculated theft from people who are dedicated to looking after sick and injured people. The thieves clearly have no conscience. To break into a hospital and steal items from members of staff is pretty despicable."

It is not the first time the hospital has been targeted by thieves. In March, thieves broke into a staffroom and stole a nurse's handbag while she was working a night shift.

They then stole the nurse's car after finding the keys in the bag. The blue Ford Ka was then rammed into a police vehicle and hit a wall as the teenage thieves tried to escape.

Anyone with any information on the latest break-in is asked to contact Swindon police on 0845 408 7000.