Callous thief swipes disabled pensioner's bad from mobility scooter

Ron Eldridge, 78, was in Fronks Road on his scooter on Tuesday at noon when a thug ran up from behind him and grabbed the bag from his scooter.

It contained about £7, keys, a prescription and Ron’s mobile phone.

Ron, of Old Vicarage Road, said: “I was on my scooter and the thief came running behind me and snatched my bag before running off down First Avenue.

“I wanted to go after him, but would not have known what to do if I had caught him up on my scooter.”

Ron, who carries an oxygen tank with him at all times for his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said he was shaken up and breathless after the incident and called a doctor.

The illness is a progressive lung disease caused by working with asbestos.

He also has a pacemaker and has undergone a triple bypass.

Ron, who lives with his wife Pamela, 74, said: “It could have brought on a heart attack.”

After calling the police, Ron was surprised to receive a phone call from a woman later that afternoon who found his bag dumped nearby.

He said: “There was a dog tag in the bag from our old dog, so the women might have found our number that way and she said she’d bring it up to us.

“After the woman called, two little lads turned up with the bag, came to the door and handed it back.”

His prescription and keys were still inside. Ron added: “I wanted to say thank you to anyone who helped me.

“This thief was a total low life and he could see I was vulnerable as I was on a mobility scooter with an oxygen tank.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “The man has

been described by the victim as being between slim and medium build and standing between 5ft 10ins and 6ft

tall.

“He wore all black, including a long-sleeved jumper over a shirt, and had medium-length dark hair, which stopped just above his shoulders.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Harwich

police station on 101 quoting reference number 42/120920/18.