THIEVES who stole a disabled man's electric bicycle have robbed him of a “large piece of independence,” his distraught wife said.

Dave Gooderham

THIEVES who stole a disabled man's electric bicycle have robbed him of a “large piece of independence,” his distraught wife said.

Robin Keylock's £900 bicycle was stolen while it was locked up outside the Tesco supermarket in Sudbury.

The 63-year-old suffers from a rare and serious heart condition which prohibits him from driving while his wife is also in poor health.

In a message to the thieves, Anna Keylock said she hoped those responsible would think about what they had done.

She said: “To the person or persons unknown, who stole my husband's TGA Electrabike , I thought you might be interested to learn the circumstances by which he had such a machine.

“He has a rare and serious heart condition which renders him unfit to work and also means that he is unable to drive a car or use an ordinary pedal cycle. His walking ability is very limited. By your actions you have robbed him not only of his bike, but of a large piece of his independence.

“I too am severely disabled and unable to work and there is no way we can afford to replace his bike which cost in the region of £900.”

The electric bike had been chained up outside the supermarket while Mr Keylock walked a short while to the nearby Focus store. But when he returned, just 20 minutes later, he found the bike had been stolen.

The couple, who live in the town, said they had been left severely hampered with Mr Keylock unable to drive due to having an Implementable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) machine fitted inside him to restart the pumping of the heart if it stops due to cardiac problems.

Mrs Keylock said: “We both feel terrible about what has happened. It is not just the loss of the bike, but we cannot afford to replace it.

“It is very important to us as our walking ability is pretty limited. After the theft, my husband was forced to walk home and even though it was downhill, it took him an hour and he was exhausted for the rest of the day.

“The bike was a Godsend to us and invaluable to my husband. Now he can barely go out the house at all.”

A spokesman for Suffolk police confirmed they were investigating the theft which took place at about 1.30pm on Monday .

Anyone with information should contact Pc Verity Pearson at Sudbury police on 01284 774100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.