Disabled Bognor woman's bike theft trauma in North Bersted
The criminal took the 525 electric cycle belonging to Maryanne Williams in the minute it was left unlocked outside her daughter's home.
Mrs Williams said her daughter, Joanne Williams, had collected the Izip ladies electric bike to take it for repairs. She put it in the forecourt of her flat in Chichester Road, North Bersted, while she went to get the key to her garage.
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Hide AdThe bike '“ complete with flat battery '“ had been stolen by the time she went back outside about 9pm last Wednesday.
Mrs Williams, of Chestnut Grove, said: "My daughter heard a noise and thought it was her neighbour coming in but it was the thief stealing the bike. By the time she got downstairs, the bike had gone. It was that quick."
The theft has had a devastating impact on her life, explained Mrs Williams (58). "I can't walk far because I am waiting for knee replacements," she explained.
"I can't get about much otherwise. I would find it an effort to walk from the northern end of the precinct to the post office.
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Hide Ad"So, I am stuck without the bike. I used it every day for getting around instead of relying on buses. It was very useful on Sundays when there aren't many buses.
"I rode the bike to visit the grave of my mother, Rosie Warren, in Aldingbourne. If I went there by taxi, it would cost me 20."
The bike was returned to Mrs Williams on Tuesday morning after she had put posters around the town about its theft.
A man told her he had found it on the recreation ground between Hawthorn Road and Chichester Road.
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Hide AdBut the two-wheeler had been stripped of anything of value. It would cost her 235 to replace the battery housing and batteries alone.