LONDON (Reuters) - A man who was caught stealing surgical face masks from a hospital in London has been jailed for three months, police said on Wednesday.

There has been huge global demand for face masks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic from health care workers to ordinary citizens, leading many countries to say they have suffered shortages.

Police said Lerun Hussain, 34, had been detained by security staff at King’s College Hospital in south London as he tried to steal three masks. He pleaded guilty to theft at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.