Customised Sinclair C5 battery vehicle stolen from multiple sclerosis patient

A customised Sinclair C5 electric battery vehicle has been stolen from a multiple sclerosis patient.

Simon Deane, 55, had spent the past five years customising and modifying the cult three-wheeler into a "one of a kind" form of transport before it was stolen from the back yard of his home in Mitcham, south London.

Martin Deane said his brother depended on the distinctive white vehicle since he was forced to give up his driving licence when he was diagnosed with MS last year.

The pedal-assisted vehicle was stolen between 3pm on June 26 and 11am on June 27 and Merton police have appealed on Twitter for information.Asked how his brother was feeling, Mr Deane said:

The electric vehicle was the brainchild of inventor Sir Clive Sinclair but flopped when it was launched in 1985.

It later became a cult item for collectors, and owners' clubs were set up.The three-wheeler came joint third in a 2007 BBC poll of the world's worst inventions.