I’m being targeted, says disabled man hit by scooter theft
9:31am Thursday 14th July 2011
A DISABLED man fears he is being targeted after thieves struck at his home three times in five months.
Geoffrey Figgins, of Skipton Walk, Tonge Fold, has been left housebound since his mobility scooter — on which he used to travel up to 35 miles a day — was stolen from under a locked canopy at his home on February 21.
Last week thieves stole a wire washing line from his garden and, on Monday, he woke to find the CCTV camera he bought six weeks ago to protect his property had been ripped from a wall at the side of his home. The locks on his canopy have also been broken twice recently.
Mr Figgins has undergone three hip operations and suffers from angina, back problems and diabetes. He can walk only short distances with the aid of crutches.
The 53-year-old said: “I am on pins now. These people must be sick in the head. I have no idea why they are doing it.
“I have only lived here since November. I don’t know anybody.
They must have been watching me before the scooter was taken.
“I’ve barely been out for eight weeks. I can only walk around 10 yards so I have been getting a taxi or my brother to take me to the shops once a week.
“I am getting a new scooter but I can’t put it back under the canopy. The lock was sawn off.
I can’t take the chance by putting it there again as I will lose my independence. I don’t know how I will feel about going out of the house again now.”
Mr Figgins said he will have to store his new scooter in the house but it will be difficult for him to move around as he uses crutches. Mr Figgins wants to move so he can feel safe again.
He is also planning to increase his security.
A police spokesman confirmed the incidents have been reported.
Anyone with information about the stolen mobility scooter should call the police on 0161 872 5050.
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