Raiders steal mobility scooter from Hartlepool gran, 82, taking away her independence

Grandmother Jean Kinnersley, who has mobility problems, relied on the electric scooter to get from her home at Hartlepool Marina to the shops.

The raiders broke into a padlocked storage unit outside her home in Chandlers Close, off Maritime Avenue, sometime over the weekend.

Mrs Kinnersley, a grandmother of seven, said: “It got me to Asda and to the town. I can walk a little bit but not much.

“I would like to know why I have been targeted. What use is it to them?”

Mr Kinnersley, who has arthritis, believed the thieves must have used some kind of vehicle to drive the scooter away as it will not start without the key and the battery charger was left behind.

Her daughter, Geraldine Holland, said: “You don’t expect something like that to be stolen. It is the principle.

“Somebody’s taken someone else’s independence away from them. I think it’s terrible.

“It is also the knock-on effect it has had, it has frightened and upset mam. As she says it is useless to anyone else. It is a futile crime.”

Mrs Kinnersley’s other daughter, Lorna Hilton has taken to Facebook to spread the word in a bid to get the scooter back.

It is red in colour and has four wheels.

Mrs Kinnersley, who used to work at Jean’s sweet and cigarette shop in Raby Road, had bought it just a few months ago.

She has suffered previous thefts at her home including a bag of groceries from the back of her previous scooter.

“It makes you frightened to get another one,” she said.

Police are investigating he theft and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.

Call Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting reference number 23825.