A YOUNG Southampton man is appealing for help after his moped was stolen.

Mason Swatton from Bitterne had his prized moped stolen from outside his home on June 26.

The 22-year-old, who has Aspergers, later recovered the bike but due to the damage the vehicle had to be written-off.

Graham Bishop, Mason’s step-dad, said: “When he moved in to the flat he was told he couldn’t chain his bike to a lamppost near his flat as it would block the pavement, even though the pavement is about 20 feet wide, and as there are no bike rails to secure his bike to, his only option was to chain it to the lamppost in the secluded car park quite a distance from his flat.

“When he moved in he requested a bike rail be installed and was told this would be looked into, still nothing nearly three months later.

“The moped was extremely important to Mason, he works nights and also does a split shift and this was his only way of getting to work.”

Mason works at the UPS delivery sorting warehouse in Millbrook and used the bike to get to and from work.

It was chained to a lamppost and the thieves used bolt cutters to cut the chain.

The bike has now been recovered but is a write-off and as Mason could only afford third party cover he wont get a penny from the insurance company.

Mason’s step-dad set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to get him a new moped.

Graham added: “We have since lent Mason the money to get another bike and the go-fund-me page is still open.

“He has Asperger’s and is very worried about keeping the bike at his address, he is going to store it at our house until the council install a bike rail, this means he has a 30 minute walk before he can start his ride into work.”

A police spokesperson said: “We received a report regarding the theft of a moped on Barnes Close, Southampton, between 9pm on June 26 and 9.30am on June 27.

“Anyone with information is asked to call us on 101, quoting 44190221509.”