Kenneth Godbold left devastated after thieves steal mobility scooter in Apsledene, Gravesend
00:00, 13 November 2016
updated: 08:49, 13 November 2016
Thieves broke into a disabled pensioner’s garage under the cover of night and made off with his mobility scooter.
Kenneth Godbold, 80, woke up on Tuesday morning to find that it had been taken from his garage in Apsledene, Gravesend, overnight and has been left reliant on a frame to get around.
Mr Godbold, who has had operations on both hips and wears a pacemaker, bought the scooter in June at a cost of £450 and he can’t afford another huge outlay to pay for a replacement.
“It was being stored in our garage just over the road, just a few yards away, because it’s too big to get in the house,” he explained.
“There are 12 garages round here, they’ve all got stuff in them. Why they’ve picked on my one I really don’t know. I don’t know how they knew it was in there to start with.
“They have done nothing else at all other than that. Nothing else in my garage has been taken at all.”
Mr Godbold has lived in Alsledene with wife Mavis, 78, since 2010 and has not experienced any such problems until now.
He called police on Tuesday morning and officers have been out to the scene three times since then, interviewing neighbours and taking fingerprint samples from the garage.
Mr Godbold hopes they manage to track it down, but in the meantime he’s far less mobile than he would like.
“I can’t go on any long journeys without it. If I want to go shopping somewhere like Bluewater or Lakeside, I can’t at the moment" Kenneth Godbold
He said: “I can’t go on any long journeys without it. If I want to go shopping somewhere like Bluewater or Lakeside, I can’t at the moment.”
A police spokesman confirmed that the incident was being investigated and called on members of the public who might have any useful information to get in touch.
“Kent Police received a report that a mobility scooter had been stolen from Apsledene, Gravesend, between 8pm on Monday, November 7 and 1.30pm on Tuesday, November 8,” they said.
“Officers investigated the incident and no suspect has been identified. Anyone with information can call 01474 366149 quoting reference XY/044602/16.”
A fundraising page has been set up to pay for a new scooter for Mr Godbard. You can donate here - justgiving.com/crowdfunding/steve-hufton.
