THIEVES stole a disabled Eastleigh man's lifeline when they made off with his wheelchair in broad daylight.

Christopher Leech, 52, had left the chair in the carport of his home in Mountbatten Road, Boyatt Wood, when the thieves struck sometime between 1.30pm and 5.30pm.

The theft enraged Mr Leech's wife Diana who said: "If I got hold of them I would give them a real piece of my mind.

"This is his lifeline - without his chair he is stuck. He lives in it, he can't be without a wheelchair."

The couple, who suffer from cerebral palsy, are both wheelchair bound. Forty-nine-year-old Mrs Leech has been in a wheelchair all her life and her husband has been dependent on one for the last ten years.

Following the theft, Mr Leech was forced to borrow his wife's manual wheelchair while she used an electric one.

But Mrs Leech said: "If you go out in the car you can't take the electric one with you."

After hearing of the couple's plight, the Eastleigh Shopmobility scheme offered free use of a manual wheelchair until the stolen chair could be replaced.

Eastleigh-based police inspector Sara Glen said: "This is a particularly heartless crime.

"The police do take these matters seriously and the incident will be investigated.

"We would ask anyone with any information about this theft to contact us."

Anyone who can help should ring Eastleigh police station on 0845 045 4545.