The A-reg P200E scooter, which is worth about £3,000, has been owned by 43-year-old Shaun Smith for 19 years.

It was taken between 9pm on February 6 and 1am the next day.

"I came home and my clothes horse from the back of the house was in the middle of the street so I knew straight away someone had been out there," he said.

"I just had this sinking feeling, which has been getting worse and worse each day."

He said the scooter is his prized possession.

"We've been through a lot together. It's part of the family."

He said he expects the scooter will be damaged, but he just wants it back.

"I don't think they really realise what they have taken, how recognisable and how unique it is," said Mr Smith.

Mr Smith and his wife Suzanne were planning on taking the scooter on a rally to Holland this summer.

"Our youngest daughter has just turned 15, so we can now start going off on our own again," he said.

He said he hopes the close community of scooter fans will help him track down his beloved Vespa.

"We've got people as far away as Rochdale and across Halifax and Bradford keeping an eye out for it."

"It's quite a close community so if somebody finds it, or hears of it, they'll get in touch."

The scooter has an electric blue and silver metal body and a black seat.

A police spokesman said they had been called at 1.14am on Sunday, February 7 to reports that a Vespa Douglas P200E Scooter had been stolen from Pellon, Halifax.

"Police have conducted house- to-house enquiries and have leafleted the local area but these efforts have proved unsuccessful.

"Anyone with any information is asked to contact Halifax police on 0845 60 60 606 quoting crime number 13100052265."

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