A MUM is appealing to the public for information after wheel trims were stolen from a specially-adapted van which she uses to transport her disabled son.

Nicola Garland, 47, co-owner of Material Needs in Burnham,-on-Sea said her partner, Nick Hebborn, discovered the wheel trims were missing from the Ford Transit when he went to the van, which was parked in Oxford Street car park, to go and collect Ms Garland’s son, Alfie Whittle, from school in Cheddar.

The mother of two, whose son Ollie Whittle, 21, suffers from polymorphic epilepsy, said her son is unable to walk and talk and he relies on the wheelchair accessible van for transportation.

Speaking after the incident, Ms Garland, said: “I am shocked to think someone could even do such a thing

“When I discovered that the trims had been taken I felt concerned and saddened that I can’t park my van in a safe place while I work.

“We paid for an annual pass for the car park which costs £750 so that we didn’t have to worry about parking it on residential streets and now this has happened.

“Luckily Ollie wasn’t really aware that anything had happened as he suffers from learning difficulties but my youngest son was quite upset about it.

“He didn’t stop talking about it all weekend as he couldn’t understand why anyone would do that.

“It is such a horrible thing for a person to to do especially to my disabled son.”

In a bid to track down the culprits, Mrs Garland launched a social media appeal on Saturday (November 24) and urged anyone with any information about the incident to come forward and report it to the police.

She said she is still able to use the van to take her son to his day centre but said the family has been left upset by the incident.

“The damage that was done was purely cosmetic really but at the end of the day it’s wrong for people to take things that don’t belong to them,” Mrs Garland said.

“I ordered new wheel trims from my local Ford dealership and they have been replaced on my van so it is back to normal again.

“I am worried it will happen again, but what can I do?

“Hopefully it was just a one off and it won’t happen again

“I just can’t believe that someone would steal from my disabled son and I would encourage anyone with information about the incident to come forward.”

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said they would urge anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

“We can confirm thieves stole four wheel trims from a Ford Transit van parked in Oxford Street car park in Burnham-on-Sea, between 9.40am and 3pm on November 23.

“Anyone with information about the incident is asked to get in touch through avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact, or by calling 101, quoting reference 5218260667.”