The mother of a child with Down syndrome has spoken of her anger after discovering that two trolleys with specially-adapted seats for children with disabilities have been stolen from the Tesco Extra store in Royston.

The two trolleys were taken about two weeks ago from the Old North Road store, and Lindy Thomas is appealing to the public to help find them because it is affecting the amount of time that she can spend shopping with her nine-year-old daughter Keeley.

Lindy said: “Luckily my little girl can walk, but it takes a lot longer without the aid of the trolley, so it has to be a very short shop.

“She can’t fit into the trolleys with smaller seats.

“A friend of mine has a child with autism, and she can’t go shopping at all without these trolleys.

“They have nice comfortable big seats.

“When I heard the trolleys were stolen I was angry, I just couldn’t understand that somebody could take them.

“They are for disabled kids. It’s not fair that they have taken them. It’s probably children who think it’s fun to go for a ride.”

Replacement trolleys have been ordered, but Lindy is concerned that it might take a while for them to arrive.

She said: “Two years ago there was just one trolley available, but that broke and I spent nearly a year badgering, nagging, begging, ringing and emailing head office for the replacements.

“When the new ones came it was brilliant.

“A lot of other parents were really pleased as well.

“Since the trolleys were stolen, I have been back to Tesco a couple of times a week to ask if they have found them.

“I have also been asking people on Facebook if they have seen them.”

The grocery giant, which also has an Express store in the town centre has promised that it is on the case, and reassured customers that the trolleys will be replaced as soon as possible.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately our two trolleys with specially designed seats for disabled children have been taken from the store.

“We know some of our customers really value the use of these trolleys and we’d like to assure them we’ll have new ones very soon.”