VIDEO: Alleged thieves swipe disabled woman's mobility scooter

A disabled Blackpool woman has condemned the lowlives who allegedly tried to steal her mobility scooter - and thanked the brave neighbour who stopped them.
Sue Malpass with her mobility scooterSue Malpass with her mobility scooter
Sue Malpass with her mobility scooter

Sue Malpass, 53, suffers from fibromyalgia, a condition that causes pain, muscle stiffness and fatigue, and relies on a mobility scooter to get around.

Two men were caught on CCTV swiping the scooter from outside her Alexandra Road home in the early hours of last Sunday morning as she and husband John, also 53, slept.

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She said: “We were both in bed. My husband had got up because he wasn’t feeling well.He was a long time so I went to see what was going on, and he told me someone had tried to take my scooter, and immediately we went to check the CCTV footage.”

Sue Malpass with her mobility scooterSue Malpass with her mobility scooter
Sue Malpass with her mobility scooter

The video showed two men walking up and down outside the couple’s home, before entering their front garden and carrying out the mobility scooter, which was kept under a waterproof cover.

Around five minutes later John can be seen talking to a woman in a dressing gown outside the house. The pair head down the street in the direction of the two would-be thieves, and return two minutes later with the scooter.

Sue said unnamed woman, who lives on the street, had witnessed the theft through her window and had knocked on their door to alert them.

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She said: “The guys were halfway up the road before my neighbour stopped them - which is good, because I can’t get out without my scooter.

“I feel violated that somebody would try to take my stuff. You don’t expect somebody to come onto your property and steal your disability equipment. We need to get it sorted so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

A police spokesman said: “We got a call about the incident at about 4.50am on September 2. Some time between 3.40am and 3.45am unknown offenders walked past a mobility scotter several times. They lifted the scooter up, but have been disturbed and made off from the scene.”

Anyone who can provide information about the attempted theft is asked to contact police on 101 quoting the reference number WA1812131.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111, or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.