A PENSIONER recovering in hospital from having a leg amputated said he was distraught after his mobility scooter was stolen and then dumped in a ditch.

A PENSIONER recovering in hospital from having a leg amputated said he was distraught after his mobility scooter was stolen and then dumped in a ditch.

Heartless thieves entered the property belonging to 69-year-old Brian Williams, of Rodney Close, Exmouth, on Saturday night, and took the scooter which was parked in his garden.

He said: "I don't know how they knew it was there because I live in a cul-de-sac and nobody goes round. Whoever did it are cruel people. It's really upset me."

Police informed Brian's daughter, Victoria Williams, 23, on Sunday morning, that the scooter had been found.

The mobility vehicle, however, was left upside down and had suffered damage after being thrown down into the ditch just yards from the Rodney Close property.

Brian, resting in Exmouth Hospital at the time of the incident, said because its battery power was low and there were no keys, the thieves must have decided to abandon it.

He added: "Once it had been found, the police told my daughter we needed to secure it. But I'm helpless in here - I can't do anything. I'm obviously not in a position where I could go down a ditch to recover it."

However, Brian's neighbours later came to the rescue and recovered the scooter.

Brian had suffered from a blood circulation problem in the leg he had amputated for more than 12 months. This caused his leg to swell.

There was a danger the infection could have spread to the upper part of his body which, he explained, doctors told him would have been fatal.

As a result, Brian had his leg removed last month at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. He said the immediate after-effects of the operation were very painful and he still needed morphine.

He said he had not used the scooter, which was in need of a service, for a while, and had intended selling it.

Brian, looking forward to leaving hospital, joked: "I'm hoping to have a 'farewell to the leg' party at my local pub in Exmouth when I get out of here."

A police spokesperson said, upon finding the scooter, officers first feared someone was trapped beneath its chassis.

If anyone has information about the incident, they should contact Devon and Cornwall Constabulary police on 08452 777444.