"We're a little cul-de-sac and a quiet spot and lots of oldies live here. It's horrible to feel that someone's been here and stolen a disability scooter."
Mrs English said after her husband suffered a stroke they had given up their car and bought the mobility scooter, which had cost them $4400, four years ago.
She now walked everywhere alongside her husband, whose scooter gave him the freedom to leave his house and get around town.
"Ken's heavily and solely reliant on it. He can probably walk two houses up the street with a walker, so he is housebound now until we get it back."
After being alerted of the crime, police visited the couple's house and finger-printed the scooter's battery charger that had been left behind, but found no prints.
The scooter was insured but, until police could confirm it was not coming home, the couple would have to wait to make their claim.
Mrs English said her husband would "have to stay put" until they got a replacement.
Mr English had been a passionate volunteer in the community and an advocate for the Heart Foundation, involved in education and fundraising, before getting sick and retiring.
He was also an administrator and is a life member of Wellington Rugby League and New Zealand Rugby League.
In a letter to the Times-Age Editor, the couple's daughter, Cheryl Ferguson, took the opportunity to give the thieves a message.
"I hope their need for a mobile scooter is as great or greater than my dad's, and that there are more ways to obtain a mobile scooter than to steal one."
She said the thieves had not only stolen a mobililty scooter but her father's ability to leave his home and go out.
"My dad has lived an entrepreneurial life and, I'm sure, would have been open to suggestions on a way to share his scooter with someone in a similar predicament to himself.
"Stealing brings nothing but negativity to a community."
She asked anyone noticing a scooter suddenly appearing in their neighbourhood to please notify the Masterton police.
