A laptop containing 600 patient records has been stolen from an ambulance service headquarters.

Lothian and Borders Police said names, addresses and details of treatments are included in the information which is password protected but not encrypted.

The laptop was stolen from the Scottish Ambulance Service headquarters in Morningside, Edinburgh, some time between 4.15pm on Tuesday and 7.30am on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "The police have been notified of the theft. The laptop is password protected and would be difficult to access without specialist IT skills.

"The service has robust information security policies and procedures in place that comply with the Data Protection Act, however on this occasion they were not followed and this will be addressed internally.

"The service treats the handling of patient information as an issue of the utmost importance and regards any failure to adhere to procedures as an extremely serious matter."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information should contact them.