LEIGH WRVS volunteers were devastated this week following the theft of their meals-on-wheels minibus.

The bus, donated two years ago by Leigh Round Table, vanished from Leigh's George and Dragon town centre car park, on February 19 and has not been seen since.

Now the group is appealing to people to be on the lookout for the vehicle which it is believed thieves may have abandoned locally.

The white bus, registration number N 587 CAG, and with signwriting WRVS and donated by Leigh Round Table, was in operation every day to serve up more than 18,000 meals a year and carry the elderly to hospital appointments.

It was last used to deliver meals on the Saturday, parked up on its regular pub site and discovered missing when the driver went to pick it up on the Monday.

Meals-on-wheels organiser, Eunice Sephton, who has spent 20 years with the volunteers, and driver-helper husband Brian, said: "This is unbelievable.

"The Round Table, Conservative Club and members of the community worked hard to raise £11,000 for the vehicle.

"We are left with one clapped out 14-year-old car which was donated by Leigh Rotary Club in the early nineties after we had our car stolen.

"We have been fund raising to replace that and now mindless thieves have hit our service hard.

"The 10 volunteers who deliver 100 meals a day to the town's elderly have been forced to use their own vehicles.

"We really need our bus back. If anyone knows of its whereabouts please contact Leigh police."