AN ELDERLY woman has been left distraught after a burglar stole her mobility scooter.

She and her husband have had to cancel a holiday after Karl Hodder took the £1,700 scooter which has not been recovered.

The 49-year-old got into their house in the Newbridge area because the woman’s carers accidentally left the back door’s key in the lock.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Hodder committed the burglary at night when the couple were asleep upstairs.

He stole their car which was carrying the mobility scooter.

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The car was found and returned.

Hodder’s DNA was found on the keys, gearstick and steering wheel.

Prosecutor Amelia Pike read out the couple’s victim impact statement which said: “The whole incident has left us feeling very upset and vulnerable.

“We are an elderly couple who live alone so to think that someone has entered our house while we were upstairs sleeping is terrifying.

“My wife is disabled and is unable to get around without her wheelchair.

“The vehicle that they stole from us was specifically adapted and has a front passenger seat removed so that she can sit in the front with me in her wheelchair.

“In stealing her mobility scooter they've taken away her freedom and ability to leave the house.

“We have booked a holiday time and without it we will be unable to go.”

They added: “We are worried that they will come back and we can’t stop thinking about the fact that they could have come upstairs and caused us harm.

“We both remain very shaky and we now no longer want anyone coming into the property, including the carers.”

Hodder, of Clos Trefin, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood pleaded guilty to burglary and taking a vehicle without consent.

He has 29 previous convictions for 92 offences and is a third-strike burglar.

Jeffrey Jones representing him said: “He has an inability, it would seem, to avoid falling back on the stupidity of using drugs as a crutch.”

Hodder, he added, is a man with a “good work ethic”.

The judge, Recorder Alun Eynon Evans, jailed the defendant for 876 days.