A PENSIONER left virtually housebound after thieves stole her mobility buggy, has had it returned - but it has been vandalised beyond use.

The £500 electric scooter, belonging to Mary Hitchman, was given her battered scooter when she collected it from her local police station.

The 81-year-old, who is nearly crippled from painful knees, said she feels disgusted by the theft and the condition of the returned buggy.

"I think it's a write-off," she said. "They knocked it about and it's all bent. It's dirty and battered, and the seat is all twisted - it's covered in mud and I don't know if the batteries are still in it."

The scooter, just 12 months old, was stolen from outside sheltered housing in St Mary's Road, Evesham, around a fortnight ago.

Mrs Hitchman, who lives in a second floor flat with her husband, Geoffrey, aged 84, even saw two teenagers driving around the streets in the vehicle shortly after it was stolen.

"I'm still pretty disgusted by it and what those people have done to it," said Mrs Hitchman, who is waiting to go into hospital for an eye operation.

The pensioner, who can only walk a very short distance, was contacted by the police when they found the buggy.

Her husband, who also owns a scooter, now has to do the shopping for his wife.

"I can't see myself driving it anymore," she said. My husband is very angry, the same as I am.

"We'll have to wait to see if the insurance comes through."

A police spokesman confirmed that the scooter was found soon after it went missing.

He was unable to give any more details as the Evening News went to press.