A Doddington pensioner says she no longer feels safe after the £2,000 quad bike she saved up for three years to buy was stolen at the weekend.

Jean Cartwright, 68, woke up to find that the distinctive red and black off-road Honda 400, which she shares with her husband, had been taken from their yard in Dykemoor Drove.

“We bought it to make life a little bit easier for both of us and this has absolutely devastated me,” she said.

“I don’t feel safe here anymore. We have lived in Doddington for eight-and-a-half years now and we’re fairly security minded.

“I’m a pensioner and I’ve worked hard all my life for what little I have.

“I retired at 65 to just enjoy having my ponies and I can’t now because I feel unsafe. I’m 68 now but when something like this happens it just unnerves you.

“We thought it was on the house insurance but now we’re going to have to fork the money out ourselves which is going to be very difficult.”

Mrs Cartwright added that she believes the quad bike was stolen between 10.30pm on Sunday and 8am on Monday.

“The quad bike is normally parked at the top of the drive. I went out and the first thing I thought was it had been unhitched and the trailer had been taken off the back of it.

“It stands out because it has a winch on it, a shovel/bucket on the front, the speedometer doesn’t work and there’s a yellow box to the left side of the fuel tank.

“You can’t mistake it,” she added. “It just stands out like a sore thumb.

“The hopper was taken as well, which was fixed to the quad by four bolts.”