A Rainham man suffering from an infected injury he picked up trying to stop his van and £3,000 worth of tools being stolen has hit out at Queen’s Hospital for sending him home without medication.

Colin Cooper, 56, was on his way to fit a kitchen at his daughter’s flat when his van plus his tools, wallet, phone and other items, was stolen.

In trying to prevent the driver taking off, Colin was dragged along the road at around 40mph and suffered injuries to his legs, feet and head.

Despite bleeding heavily, Colin said he waited around two hours for an ambulance to arrive before opting to be taken to Queen’s Hospital in Romford in the back of a police car.

Once there, he said he was seen and had x-rays before being sent home without any antibiotics, pain killers or other forms of medication.

Still in agony a couple of days later, it was Colin's wife - who works as a carer - who booked him an appointment with a doctor.

He was subsequently informed he had a severe infection in his foot, and was given two courses of antibiotics for 14 days.

Colin was also told he had to return within a week due to concerns that gangrene or sepsis might set in.

Mamta Shetty Vaidya, chief medical officer at the trust managing Queen’s Hospital, the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), urged him to use its Patient Advice and Liaison Service so it can investigate further.

The combination of the incident itself and the subsequent pain has left Colin reeling.

“It’s just going round and round and round in my head,” he said. “I just can’t get it out of my head.”

Ms Shetty Vaidya of BHRUT said: “We’re disappointed to hear Colin was unhappy with his treatment.

“Our Patient Advice and Liaison Service is there to support our patients and resolve any issues, so we would encourage him to get in touch as soon as possible so we can look into this further.

"It’s really important our patients raise their concerns with us so we can learn from them.”