Scooter stolen from outside Sheffield hospital found battered to pieces and ripped up by angle grinder

Barry McKenna, 54, had to be told by other staff how his ‘pride and joy’ white Lambretta was stolen by two youths while he was on shift at around 4pm on Sunday, February 27.

The moped was in the car park nearest to the Chesterman ward when the two thieves arrived on a bike of their own. One used an angle grinder to cut the lock off the moped before they wheeled it away.

Barry’s daughter Megan, 27, told The Star how the two thieves reportedly “didn’t care” as onlookers filmed them as they chopped up the bike and stole it.

Sadly, Megan and Barry’s search ended after their appeal for help on Facebook was seen by a woman who told them she had seen the moped dumped behind The Beagle pub in Parson Cross.

Megan said: “It was in a very sorry state.

“It’s been battered. I think they used an angle grinder to get the panel off to hot wire it.

“I think after it was stolen it was driven around until midnight or 1am and then dumped.

“I just think it’s worth warning other people and it might stop it happening in the future.

“My dad is absolutely gutted. It’ll have to be written off. It was his pride and joy. He takes it out everywhere he goes and on weekends and has spent hours polishing it.

“His job’s been stressful enough without having to come out at the end of a shift and having no transport.”

It comes after an incident on December 30, 2021, where two young men were videoed attempting to steal a white and red motorbike from the car park of Drakehouse retail park using an angle grinder.

One of the offenders waited on another bike while the other man sawed into the parked vehicle.

When a member of public began filming them, the offender calmly walked back to the waiting white moped and they rode away.

Anyone with information on the latest incident should call South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 14/43654/22.