A DOCTOR'S life savings have been stolen while she visited Abergavenny just days before joining the army's medical core on the front line in Afghanistan.

Dr Natalie Taylor had worked at Nevill Hall Hospital in both accident and emergency and anaesthetics departments for 18 months before she accepted a military assignment in the war zone.

Having fallen in love with Abergavenny and its people Dr Taylor decided to buy a house in the town which she planned to return to when her army contract was over.

However her housing plans fell through and on learning she was to be posted to one of the most dangerous part of Afghanistan she decided to use the deposit money she had saved to buy a brand new camper van.

Her plan was to spend her last few weeks in the UK before undertaking her assignment, with her boyfriend Paul Pickering and take part in the Coast to Coast Open Adventure challenge that crosses the Pennines.

But when Natalie, aged 27 stayed with a friend in Major's Close in Abergavenny last week she parked her camper van outside the house only to wake up the next morning, to find that it along with all her sporting possessions had been stolen - leaving her with only the clothes she stood in.

Natalie said: "It's a double tragedy for us as we had been preparing to take part in a triple sporting challenge of mountain biking, kayaking and hill running across the Pennines, and all the relevant equipment was in the camper van which was stolen.

"While well meaning friends offered us replacement clothing and equipment to take part in the challenge, the practicalities of it made it impossible.

"The theft of my pride and joy, which I only brought in June and only has just over 2,000 miles on the clock and the whole incident has taken the edge off my assignment to Afghanistan.

"There is nothing I can do for at least 30 days while the various insurance companies look into the case and by the time their investigation is done I shall be a doctor serving alongside the soldiers patrolling the front line."

Abergavenny police said that within half an hour of the vehicle being reported as stolen on Tuesday, August 23 its details had been issued nationwide to all police forces and to operators of the automatic number plate recognition cameras but so far to no avail.

A disappointed and angry Natalie told The Chronicle "It's frustrating to say the least. I am prepared to face danger by going on a dangerous assignment in a war torn country, yet I get done over in a town that I love.

"Having a camper van was meant to be a fun time for me, but its turned into a horror story.

"I had hoped that when I came back from my tour of duty I could sell the vehicle and use the proceeds to buy a house in Abergavenny.

"However the incident has put me off living in the town itself and I will look towards Crickhowell or the Brecon Beacons when I return."

Dr Anona Blackwell , a close friend and former tutor is currently an NHS consultant working in Swansea and said: "Facing her own imminent secondment to Afghanistan to deal with a very traumatised group of heroes - our soldiers - is a hard task indeed.

"I see patients, young men who go to Afghanistan and knowing that Natalie will possibly be saving their lives makes hers and her state of mind even more precious.

"What kind of contemptible people can do this to someone who contributes so much to society. Like me she comes from a pretty humble family background and has had to work very hard for all that she has in life."

• If anybody spots the black Volkswagen Transporter camper van with the index plate of WN11LKL or has knowledge of its whereabouts to contact Abergavenny police on 101.