A polio sufferer has condemned "despicable" thieves who stole her electric wheelchair and dumped it in a river.

Joanna Watson, who contracted the disease when she was seven, had her battery-powered chair stolen from outside her home in Ilkley.

It was discovered in the River Wharfe the following day with the cushions, battery pack, back, arm and foot rests ripped off.

Miss Watson, who relies on the chair to get around her house and perform day-to-day tasks, said: "I've never had this kind of problem before and I'm absolutely flabbergasted by it, because you don't expect it to happen.

"The chair is my legs, really, and I'm so much more mobile with it because I can carry things around the house.

"Since it was taken I have had to make do on crutches and an old manual wheelchair, which really limits what I can do.

"I've got the shell back and now I need to find out if it's reparable, but it's not looking hopeful. There was nothing of value in it and I think whoever took it was just 'having a laugh' - but it isn't very funny for me."

Miss Watson, of Valley Drive, said buying a new chair, at around £3,500, is beyond her financial reach.

"This was a despicable crime in broad daylight and I thought it was worth saying something to warn people and perhaps stop the same thing happening to anyone else."

Police today confirmed they were hunting the thieves and asked for information about the theft to come forward.

Anyone with information about the crime can contact Keighley Police on (01535) 617059 or Ilkley Police Station on (01943) 601060,