Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2007/08/28/hand_theft/
Thieves swipe biker's prosthetic hand
'No good to anyone else', insists semi-armless victim
Posted in Bootnotes, 28th August 2007 13:51 GMT
A disabled biker who left his prosthetic hand gripped to the handlebars of his Suzuki faces a bill for £450 for a new mitt after thieves made off with the original, the Sun reports.
Jack Baker, 19, lost an arm back in May after a head-on collision with a bus in Bristol. He got an artificial hand to allow him to carry on riding his specially-adapted wheels, but lost it when visiting his girlfriend in Knowle. He explained: "It was the first time I had left my hand on the bike. I thought I was only going to be 10 minutes, but I ended up staying for two hours.
"I came out and found the hand was gone. I thought it was my girlfriend's parents messing about, but they said it wasn't them. I went for a look around but I couldn't see my hand anywhere. There were no kids about and no-one to ask if they had seen it."
Baker was forced to make his way home with just one hand, but said he's able to ride his bike quite adequately in semi-armless mode.
Mercifully, Baker had already ordered a back-up hand for racing, which he now uses in anticipation of the return of his accessory. The replacement is apparently not as good as the thieved mitt, and unless the cops can locate it, he faces a hefty bill for a new prosthetic.
Baker elaborated: "I went to the hospital and they said I couldn't have another one unless I paid £450, which seemed a lot. I had ordered a hand for racing just a few weeks before it got nicked, because I thought it would be useful to have a spare. But I still need my old hand back. It was better quality and will last a lot longer."
Any Reg reader offered a prosthetic hand in a boozer is urged to use it to ring Avon and Somerset Police on 0845 456 7000. ®