FECKLESS thieves snatched a vintage bike from outside the home of an 87-year-old grandmother battling leukaemia.

Pamela Mitchell was devastated to discover the bike she has had for 36 years had been stolen from outside her flats in Chapel Walks, Sale, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Pamela had noticed the sensor light go on outside her home at around 1.30am on Saturday October 8 and peering through her blinds, saw two men circling around the estate on bikes. She knocked the window and the men fled.

It was only the next morning that she realised that her bike, which had been locked up outside with her grandson’s, had been stolen and she had witnessed the thief riding off on her beloved bike.

Pamela, who volunteers at The Christie, branded the thieves ‘pigs’.

“If I had known it was my bike I would have gone out and confronted them,” she said. “I was so cross. That bike was such a lifeline to me, it was my social life. I bought it at a boy scouts jumble sale and it cost me £24 all those years ago.

“It has never been painted and the chrome is good as new, I really take care of it – I even wipe the wheels when it has been raining. The police officer asked me how much it was worth and I said its weight in gold – it was worth everything to me.”

Pamela primarily used the bike to get to her daughter’s house in Ashton-upon-Mersey and go to doctor’s appointments.

She has fought ovarian cancer, bowel cancer, had half a lung removed and is currently battling leukaemia.

“When you have got things wrong, you can’t just sit there and do nothing with your life. I get out on the bike and go down to my daughter’s house to do a bit of gardening, a bit of washing up; I can’t feel sorry for myself,” said Pamela.

“The bike is easier than getting the bus and you get fresh air. It keeps me going. I can cycle better than I can walk.

“I think the person who pinched it probably dumped it somewhere. I just hope somebody sees it and I can get it back.”

The stolen bike is a maroon coloured chrome Raleigh bike. If you have information about this incident or have found the bike, contact the police on 101 or 0161 856 7530.