A severely disabled girl who relies on a mobility van was left stranded at home after the vehicle disappeared from her father’s driveway. Ten-year-old Rhian Rees, who suffers with spinal muscular atrophy, is a wheelchair user and the only way she can travel is via the van, her father Andrew Rees told WalesOnline.
He said the van was new and that he hadn’t long bought it to help his daughter see him and her grandmother twice a week. But at some point between Sunday and Monday this week the van disappeared from his driveway in Ty Sign, Risca.
“I use it to pick her up and take her to appointments obviously,” Andrew explained. “It’s a brilliant van for us. It’s got a lift in the back to lift her up in her wheelchair and it has anchor points in there to strap it down as well.
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“I use it to bring her up here to see me and her nan twice a week and get her back home. I’m in Ty Sign and she’s in Crosskeys. I have the kids on Sundays so she was up with me and then I went and dropped her off. I didn’t come to use it then until the Monday evening to pop to the shops and when I went out it was gone.”
Andrew’s sister Nichola Rees posted on Facebook: “She can’t walk and now someone has taken her only transport away as well. I’m literally shaking and fuming.” You can sign up to our crime newsletter here.
Gwent Police said officers retrieved the van in Bettws in Newport on Wednesday, but their enquiries are still ongoing. A spokesman said: “We're investigating the theft of a van in Risca, after a Renault Master van was taken from Elm Drive at some point between 9pm on Sunday, April 3, and 8.45pm on Monday, April 4.
"The van was recovered in the Bettws area of Newport on Wednesday, April 7, but enquiries are ongoing in relation to the theft. Anyone with any information is asked to call us on 101 quoting log reference 2200111082. You can also direct message us on Facebook or Twitter or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
