An Ilkley polio sufferer has condemned the 'despicable' thieves who stole her electric wheelchair - only to dump it in the River Wharfe.

Joanna Watson, who contracted the disease when she was seven, is now urging other wheelchair users in the town to beware.

The 54-year-old, who suffers from the debilitating Post Polio Syndrome, had her battery powered chair stolen from outside her Valley Drive home last Thursday afternoon.

It was discovered in the river the following day near the Stepping Stones, beside the narrow bridge at Ben Rhydding, with its cushions, battery pack, back, arm and foot rests all ripped off.

Miss Watson, who relies on the equipment 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, who has lived in Ilkley since she was a teenager, says buying a new chair, at around £3,500, is beyond her financial reach.

She says her best hope is to pick up a second-hand one using insurance money, but in the meantime is advising others with mobility problems to take precautions.

She said: "I have to admit I hadn't locked my chair up because it was broad daylight and right outside my home, where I've been leaving it for years.

"I suppose I had become a bit blas, but this despicable crime shows that it can happen, even in Ilkley, and I thought it was worth saying something to warn people and perhaps stop the same thing happening to anyone else."

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