AN elderly woman has been left unable to leave her house after thieves made off with her mobility scooter.

The scooter belonging to Hettie Nyman, 89, was stolen from her sheltered home on Culver Street on Saturday afternoon.

Mrs Nyman was looking forward to going out on Saturday but found the electric scooter had been taken from inside the sheltered housing near the back entrance, where she had parked it while it charged.

She said: “I can’t go out - I’m just stuck, I can’t do anything. I’d just had it repaired and now it’s gone.”

Mrs Nyman, who until recently was the chair of Wiltshire’s sheltered housing forum, has had the red Little Tiger mobility scooter for two years and relies on it to get out and about.

She has difficulty getting around as she has been very ill with pneumonia.

“I can’t understand why anyone would do this,” she said. “They even had the cheek to take the charger. There’s no conscience there.

“With the weather getting better I’d like to get out but I can’t now - they’ve taken my legs away from me,” she added.

The scooter, which her friends bought for about £800, is distinctive as it has a pink horn and a dent in the back.

“Everybody knows me in Salisbury; I made people laugh in the supermarket with my pink horn.”

Anyone with information can contact Wiltshire Police on 0845 4087000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.