A THIEF took medical equipment and cash from a disabled woman.

Sharon Diack, 48, of Prospect Close, Southend, had her bag stolen on Sunday.

She accidentally left it in a car park by the Candy Terrace flats, on the Kursaal estate, Southend, while she carried shopping bags from her car.

The bag contained an oxygen mask with a special adapter.

She must carry it at all times, as an acute sensitivity to oxygen means she could die if given pure oxygen by paramedics during one of her frequent collapses.

The bag also contained a titanium watch bought for her by her mother, which Sharon wears because she is allergic to nickel.

The haul also included her driving licence, a phone with family photos and £160 she was planning to spend on food for Christmas.

Sharon, who suffers from a number of ailments, including degeneration of the spine and asthma, said she had given up on the money being returned.

But she said she was desperate for the return of her other possessions.

She said: “I was so angry with myself for leaving the bag there but, although it would be lovely to see the cash again, it’s the other things that are important.

“I discovered I had an oxygen sensitivity last year when I was in hospital and went into respiratory failure from the oxygen I was on.

“If I ever collapse and an ambulance is called, I had oxygen alert cards, so they know to use the adapter’’.

The cards were also stolen.

Sharon added: “I haven’t had to use it yet, but it worries me because I have to be referred to the respiratory clinic at the hospital for a new mask – but what happens if I need it in the meantime?”