POLICE are appealing for public help in finding the heartless thief who stole an elderly woman's electric buggy and then abandoned it to the elements for more than a month.

The red Sterling Sunrise Star three-wheeled electric buggy was stolen, at the end of January, from a garage in Wordsworth Road, Salisbury.

No trace was found of it until last week, when police were told that one with a similar description had been abandoned near garages on the Bishopdown estate.

A police spokesman said the buggy was the one stolen from Wordsworth Road.

Now police want information from anyone who might have seen it at any time between January 30 and the end of February, when it was first spotted in Bishopdown.

Police said a man called to say that he had seen the buggy over a period of several days and became suspicious.

The buggy had been left in a secluded position and was partially damaged, but the spokesman said they were hopeful it could be repaired and returned to its owner.

Anyone with any information or who can recall seeing the buggy in the vicinity of Wordsworth Road, or around Bishopdown estate, is asked to contact Salisbury police in confidence.