A 16-YEAR-OLD care worker was left ‘heartbroken and gutted’ when his moped was stolen and written off by thieves.

Joshua Holden used his blue AJS Firefox moped to help him with his part-time community care job - until it was stolen on Friday.

Joshua, from Great Harwood, said the machine, valued at around £1,200, was taken from Willow Street near to his home while he was receiving vaccinations for his health and social care course at Blackburn College.

The teenager returned and found the moped had been taken. It was found by police near Lower Barnes Street in Clayton-le-Moors on Saturday. The machine had a punctured back tyre, a missing storage box, damaged fairings, a missing number plate, smashed instrument dials and other damage.

The machine was unrepairable but Joshua said because it did not have a lock on the front wheel when stolen, the insurance company would not pay out. He said: “I was absolutely heartbroken and gutted someone had stolen my bike.

“I used it every day. I rely on my bike for work as a carer who needs to get from house to house and to get to college. I felt violated that my most prized possession had been taken from me for nothing more than a joy ride.

“I have now had to spend my savings, which I had hoped to use to buy a car one day, on a new moped, as well as fees to release the bike from the pound it was taken to.

“It might not seem like something that important but the actions of a few bad people have affected my life massively.”

Joshua’s mum, Sheila Walton, 60, said: “He’s been absolutely distraught. He’s done so much for people. He’s raised money for the homeless. He’s visited an orphanage in India where he raised money for disadvantaged children.

“He had been saving up to pay for driving lessons and a car. It’s his dream to become a paramedic.

A police spokesman said: “The bike was believed to have been taken on Friday, October 12, between 10.30am and 3.40pm. It was parked near to the owner’s address. Anyone with information can contact police on 101.”