A COMMUNITY rallied to buy a new mobility scooter for a lady who had hers cruelly stolen and vandalised.

Rachel Robinson, from Lache, near Saltney, had the scooter stolen on March 15 whilst she was at the chemist. 

And then last week, the 50-year-old found the scooter which had been dumped and damaged beyond repair.

She recently had spinal neck surgery, and has spinal stenosis and nerve damage. She suffered a dural tear during surgery and is currently awaiting further scans at the Walton Centre in Liverpool.

Rachel relies on the scooter to get around and has been left stranded in her flat following the theft. 

But after news of the theft, kind members of the community in the Lache area rallied to raise enough funds to buy Rachel a new scooter - which was delivered to her on Wednesday (April 3). 

An overjoyed Rachel said: "This has helped me so much as I couldn't afford a new scooter and I've been stuck in the flat not able to get out and about.

"It means the world to me as it shows how kind people can be and not everybody is mean. Thankyou to everyone who donated and special thanks to Katie Owen and Christina Poynton -  such a kind and thoughtful thing to do.

"It's about the community coming together and looking after their own - true community spirit."

Katie Owen, who helped organise the fundraiser, said: "Rachel has been a Lache resident all her life, a really lovely girl and as a community we help people especially when something which is needed has been stolen.

"I would like to thank everybody who donated and we hope Rachel can finally be mobile again.

"A big thank you to Patsy Liversage for helping me collect the scooter using her car, as mine was too small!"