Low-life muggers robbed a helpless pensioner after pretending to go to his aid as he lay on the pavement – having an epileptic fit.
The sick yobs rifled through the pockets of stricken John Bostock, 66, after he suffered a seizure and collapsed in the middle of a town centre.
The cruel pair had at first pretended to help the former soldier as he lay defenceless on the pavement in Kidsgrove, North Staffs., in broad daylight last month.
But they escaped with £10 in cash, bank cards and his free bus pass after they stole his wallet and ran off.
Incredibly, Mr Bostock revealed the theft was the sixth time he has been targeted while suffering fits since his illness was first diagnosed in 1993.
He was also targeted in Stoke-on-Trent around four years ago, and Manchester in 2011, when the culprits used his cards to buy £600 worth of goods including petrol and food.
The former foundry manager, who served with the Grenadier Guards for four years from 1966, said: “This is so frequent it is almost becoming an occupational hazard of suffering from epilepsy.
“I sometimes have two seizures a month and if I knew in advance when they were coming I’d leave my wallet at home.
“But you just can’t tell. You will always get those opportunistic thieves who are that desperate.
“But I don’t want to discourage people form helping when epilepsy sufferers have a seizure because that’s what we need them to do.
“But it’s just worrying when the very citizens you have previously fought to protect are the one’s robbing you blind.
“Other sufferers up and down the country have told me it has happened to them as well.
“To those in good health it must sound sickening that some people will stoop this low but when you have epilepsy you see it is as just another thing to get through.
“They steal stuff like bus passes and rail cards which they cannot use and if they are so desperate for cash I would probably give them a tenner.
“The problem is when you come round and find your wallet gone, you have no idea who took it so the chances of them being caught are negligible.”
Mr Bostock helped form the Stoke-on-Trent branch of Epilepsy Action in 1995 after encountering little local help for sufferers.
Stacey Rennard, campaigns manager at the charity, said: “Taking advantage of anyone who is in a vulnerable state is obviously unacceptable.
“A particular concern is that some people with epilepsy carry medical ID cards in their wallet or purse.
“These are used to let people know what to do in case of a seizure and to inform medical professionals that a person has epilepsy.”
Mr Bostock has reported the robbery to Staffordshire Police who are now investigating the incident.
