VITAL research data into childhood illnesses has been stolen from a

hospital laboratory. Thieves took two computers worth #1500 each and

other equipment from the Willink Laboratory at the Royal Manchester

Children's Hospital. Among the disks taken were those containing data

from a three-and-a-half-year study into Tay-Sachs disease, which causes

blindness, mental retardation, and death before the age of four. Data on

Gaucher's disease, an inborn chemical deficiency fatal in infancy, was

also taken. A spokeswoman for the laboratory, Dr Sybil Simon, said:

''The theft means a lot of research work can't be done and inevitably

children will suffer.''