Dear Everyone... thank you for your replies. I feel slightly calmer now and it can only make me stronger! I am not covered by anything it seems. Apparently the next step is to get my name out there asap! Does anyone have any tips on protecting ones work for others?

Dear Everyone,
I am a second year PhD student and I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced someone else stealing your ideas? Basically, I wrote a grant proposal 9 months ago and emailed it to someone who said they might be able to help me. A few weeks later I emailed to ask if I hadbeen successful and I had a one sentance email to say that 'sorry, I do not have the funds'. I have just found out, by chance, they the same study is now being carried out by this person, who is not academic, but has recruited several academics to do analysis etc. It is the same work I was going to do (and have started) and would comprise 2 chapters of my thesis. The people that are involved with his study and the funds he has for equipment means that it is impossible for me to compete and get a paper out before his.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, is there anything I can do? I am coming to the end of my second year now :-(