Elderly residents devastated after motorised scooters stolen from retirement village in Geelong
A group of Victorian aged care home residents have been left traumatised, after heartless thieves stole their motorised scooters and dumped them in a muddy park last week.
Offenders broke into St Albans Park Gardens residential village on Townsend Road in the early hours of last Tuesday, and took off with two mobility scooters, leaving a third left at the security gates of the village.
The thieves then drove to a nearby paddock, where they performed burnouts and took the scooters on a joyride, before leaving them dumped in the mud at a nearby park.
Police said a tow truck was required to recover them.
One of the scooters was close to being written-off. (9NEWS)
Evonne Simpson, 72, says she felt “violated and humiliated” after her $10,000 scooter was left dirtied and damaged.
“How would they feel if I smashed their belongings,” she said.
Fellow resident Bob Ford, 86, said his scooter has immense sentimental value.
“It belonged to my brother, and my brother has now passed on,” Bob said.
Yvonne Simpson (left) and Bob Ford were devastated after the theft. (9NEWS)
Mark Dillon, who is responsible for repairing the three scooters, said he was disgusted by their actions.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. One was close to a write-off, but with sentimental value we’ll do our best to get it back up and running,” Mr Dillon said.
“The front panels have been pulled off, they’ve been hot-wired to get them moving, but through their abuse they’ve tripped some circuit breakers and left them damaged in the mud.”
Residents say it is the second time in a month the village has been struck.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident.