THIEVES have been condemned for damaging a minibus used to transport elderly and disabled people.

The minibus is one of 10 used by Northwich-based Cheshire Community Development, which runs a local dial a ride service and provides day care transport.

The 13-seater minibus was taken from outside the trust’s premises in Navigation Road in the early hours of Thursday.

It was found abandoned in Hartford on Friday, and the thieves had damaged the electrics in trying to remove the tracking device, which pinpointed the vehicle’s location.

The minibus was returned to the trust’s premises on Friday, and the gang targeted it again early on Sunday morning.

They tried in vain for a second time to remove the tracking device, damaging wiring and the dashboard in the process, and the minibus could be out of action for up to a week while it is repaired.

Arthur Neil, trust chief executive said: “We were fortunate to be able to track the minibus and recover it the day after it was stolen, but after we had immobilised it they returned to cause more damage over the weekend.

“Even if they had succeeded in removing the tracking device they could not have moved the vehicle because we blocked it in with another bus.

“Three quarters of our passengers are over 75, and rely on the service to get them out of the house, do their own shopping, visit friends and so on.

“Many of them describe the service as a lifeline. Now it will be disrupted while we have one bus off the road for repairs to mindless damage.

“We have run the service for 25 years, and this is only the second time we’ve had an incident like this.”

The dial a ride service was started by the trust (then Vale Royal CVS) in 1989, and offers door-to-door transport for anyone unable to use ordinary public transport. It also provides a rural service, and since April has been providing transport for day care at Davenham Day Care Centre.

The trust is to review the security of its vehicles following the damage.