AN ELDERLY man who suffers from a life-limiting illness said it was like “having his legs cut off” when heartless thieves stole his mobility scooter.

Brian Causer, 71, of Claremont Drive, Vange, suffers from muscular dystrophy and relies on his scooter to get around as he finds it difficult to walk more than a few steps at a time.

Last Friday, he parked his scooter in the drive - as he does every day - while he took his grandson to work at Lakeside in the car.

When he returned 20 minutes later, the scooter was gone.

Mr Causer said: “I just don’t understand who would steal a mobility scooter. People only need them for one thing.

“I always leave it there but it’s not obvious. It’s parked up by the wall so you would have to look for it. I think it was scrap men that took it but it must have taken two of them because it’s so heavy.

“On Friday night, my mind was just going wild thinking ‘how am I going to get to the shops?’ My scooter was the key to my independence - it’s that important to me. Taking this scooter away from me was like cutting my legs off.”

Mr Causer’s grandson Jake shared an appeal on social media in a bid to track down the scooter.

The post was shared more than 200 times and within 24 hours, Mr Causer had an offer of a replacement from as many as six people in the community including Premier League footballer Mark Noble.

Mr Causer added: “I have been absolutely gobsmacked by the response from the community.

“You read so much bad news about the world you forget that good things can happen.

“I had a replacement by the end of the weekend which I am going to buy off a neighbour. She has been a lifesaver.

“My son-in-law is a huge West Ham supporter and when the appeal got in the fan group somehow Mark Noble got wind of it and offered me his mother’s scooter as she had passed away.”