A have-a-go hero stopped three louts who had stole a pensioner's mobility scooter but he had to let them go after police took an hour to arrive. Michael Lowe, 29, cornered the trio of joyriders in a passageway behind his home in Northenden, Manchester, just after midnight and asked his uncle to dial 999. One of them claimed the scooter belonged to his grandmother but when the charity volunteer shone a torch on it he saw it had been hot-wired and was covered in mud after being ridden in fields. Michael Lowe (left) cornered three louts who had made off with a mobility scooter while his uncle Neil Hodkin (right) called police. But police took an hour to arrive on the scene and in that time the men had esaped . He attempted to hold the men for as long as possible while his uncle, Neil Hodkin, 46, was on the phone to police, but they claim they took so long to respond that the group made off. Mr Lowe, who volunteers at stables to help disabled children ride horses, said: 'I tried to keep them for as long as I could but, in the end, they legged it into the fields. 'I could have given chase but I had to think of my own safety. My uncle couldn't help because he was being kept on the phone to the police. 'If they had come sooner they would have captured them.' Mr Hodkin said: 'I wanted to help my nephew but the call handler kept saying "I just need some more details". 'Call handlers are trained to do the best job they can but, frankly, that's not the point when you have individuals on the scene. The system's just not working.' After the louts ran off, the pair then began their own investigation, and found a second damaged scooter nearby and established that they belonged to next-door neighbours on another street. Mr Hodkin said: 'The police only turned up an hour later and they spoke to my nephew as if he had stolen them. I thought it was a disgraceful response. 'I think it's atrocious local youths have targeted elderly disabled people. It means they haven't got the means to get out and about. They're stranded. 'I think the response from the police was atrocious.' Inspector Luke Breakspear, from Greater Manchester Police, said: 'Police were initially called at 00.03am and the caller reported he could see youths driving a mobility scooter some way in the distance. One of the thugs claimed the scooter belonged to his grandmother but when Michael Lowe shone a torch on it he saw it had been hot-wired and was covered in mud after being ridden in fields (file picture) 'As with every 999 call, the call handler had to establish the exact details, location and circumstances of the incident in order to correctly prioritise the call and allocate the right officers to attend. 'This call lasted five minutes. At that time, the division was already dealing with two grade one incidents. 'Grade one incidents are given a higher priority as they relate to potential threats to people's lives so it is only right we allocate more resources to these critical jobs. 'This incident was therefore graded two and an officer was on scene at 1.02am, 59 minutes after the original call. 'I would also like to stress that the stolen mobility scooters were found and returned to their original owners that same night. 'However, if the caller does have any concerns about our response we would be more than happy to discuss them with him and address those concerns.'
Michael Lowe, 29, stopped the joyriders in a passageway behind his home .
He told his uncle to call 999 while he held them for as long as he could .
One of them claimed it was his grandmother's but it had been hot-wired .
Officers took an hour to respond to call and in that time the trio got away .
Police say they were dealing with two urgent calls when incident happened .
The mobility scooter, and second one found later, were returned to owners .
A have-a-go hero stopped three louts who had stole a pensioner's mobility scooter but he had to let them go after police took an hour to arrive. Michael Lowe, 29, cornered the trio of joyriders in a passageway behind his home in Northenden, Manchester, just after midnight and asked his uncle to dial 999. One of them claimed the scooter belonged to his grandmother but when the charity volunteer shone a torch on it he saw it had been hot-wired and was covered in mud after being ridden in fields. Michael Lowe (left) cornered three louts who had made off with a mobility scooter while his uncle Neil Hodkin (right) called police. But police took an hour to arrive on the scene and in that time the men had esaped . He attempted to hold the men for as long as possible while his uncle, Neil Hodkin, 46, was on the phone to police, but they claim they took so long to respond that the group made off. Mr Lowe, who volunteers at stables to help disabled children ride horses, said: 'I tried to keep them for as long as I could but, in the end, they legged it into the fields. 'I could have given chase but I had to think of my own safety. My uncle couldn't help because he was being kept on the phone to the police. 'If they had come sooner they would have captured them.' Mr Hodkin said: 'I wanted to help my nephew but the call handler kept saying "I just need some more details". 'Call handlers are trained to do the best job they can but, frankly, that's not the point when you have individuals on the scene. The system's just not working.' After the louts ran off, the pair then began their own investigation, and found a second damaged scooter nearby and established that they belonged to next-door neighbours on another street. Mr Hodkin said: 'The police only turned up an hour later and they spoke to my nephew as if he had stolen them. I thought it was a disgraceful response. 'I think it's atrocious local youths have targeted elderly disabled people. It means they haven't got the means to get out and about. They're stranded. 'I think the response from the police was atrocious.' Inspector Luke Breakspear, from Greater Manchester Police, said: 'Police were initially called at 00.03am and the caller reported he could see youths driving a mobility scooter some way in the distance. One of the thugs claimed the scooter belonged to his grandmother but when Michael Lowe shone a torch on it he saw it had been hot-wired and was covered in mud after being ridden in fields (file picture) 'As with every 999 call, the call handler had to establish the exact details, location and circumstances of the incident in order to correctly prioritise the call and allocate the right officers to attend. 'This call lasted five minutes. At that time, the division was already dealing with two grade one incidents. 'Grade one incidents are given a higher priority as they relate to potential threats to people's lives so it is only right we allocate more resources to these critical jobs. 'This incident was therefore graded two and an officer was on scene at 1.02am, 59 minutes after the original call. 'I would also like to stress that the stolen mobility scooters were found and returned to their original owners that same night. 'However, if the caller does have any concerns about our response we would be more than happy to discuss them with him and address those concerns.'
them go after police took an hour to arrive. Michael Lowe, 29, cornered the trio of joyriders in a passageway behind his home in Northenden, uncle to dial 999. One of them claimed the mobility scooter while his uncle Neil Hodkin arrive on the scene and in that time the men had for as long as I could but, in the end, they on it he saw it had been hot-wired and was was already dealing with two grade one incidents. stolen mobility scooters were found and returned