A DISABLED man has received an overwhelming response following last week’s report by The Comet that his mobility scooter had been stolen and wrecked by thieves.

Colin Parker, of Wilshere Crescent, Hitchin, had not one but three offers from good Samaritans to replace his mobility scooter with a newer model after the one he had paid for himself was stolen last Sunday night and found vandalised at nearby garages the following evening.

Following our report, three of Mr Parker’s friends – John Brown, of Letchworth GC, Mick Day, of Hitchin, and Jim Connolly, formerly of Hitchin but now living in Lincolnshire – have all offered scooters to the 62-year-old, who had his leg amputated four years ago after contracting bone cancer.

Mr Brown’s initial attempts to come to his friend’s aid suffered a setback when he discovered this afternoon (Wednesday) that a mobility scooter which was being kept at the back of paint suppliers in Baldock had been stolen but, undeterred, the 63-year-old went and bought a new one from UK Mobility Scooters in Birdshill, Letchworth GC, receiving a discount from the store after explaining the story.

The Hitchin Road resident, who delivered the new scooter today, said: “I’ve known Colin for a long long time. He’s lucky to be alive at the moment after his illness so he doesn’t need some mindless idiot to do this when he relies on it for his mobility. I was absolutely gutted when I went out the back to collect the scooter and realised it had been stolen. But once I’ve given someone my word I always stick to it. It’s only money!”

A similarly generous donation would have been made by Mr Connolly had he not realised his friend had already been offered two scooters, as he made a �500 bid for a mobility scooter on Ebay which he had to cancel at the last minute.

Mr Parker was also put in contact with mobility engineer Lee Hodgson through The Comet who volunteered to try to fix the scooter.

Speaking before Mr Connolly’s Ebay bid, Mr Parker said: “Several people have been on the phone to me after reading the paper. I’ve been offered two scooters to use so I will use one and make sure that someone else who needs one gets it.

“There’s been an awful lot of phone calls and people are just disgusted with what happened. I’d like to thank everyone very very much.”

Regarding the investigation into the incident, a police spokesman said: “Following the newspaper report we’ve received information from possible witnesses and those reports are currently being looked into. Enquiries are still ongoing at this stage.”