Thieves in Tauranga have stolen a rocking chair from a 97-year-old blind woman. Mavis Rushworth, a resident at the Hodgson House resthome on Botanical Rd in Tauranga South, was shocked after the chair, a handmade gift from her son-in-law, was swiped from her porch on Sunday night. "That was a bit mean,I just couldn't believe it," Mrs Rushworth said. "I got up and went out to the porch, the chair was gone as well as a large yucca in a pot." Although the chair was not valuable and could be replaced, Mrs Rushworth said it was "not the point". As she is virtually blind, the porch chair acted as a lifeline to the community for her. "It was just a rocker, but it was something I sat in most days. "I used to sit out on the front porch because I'm elderly and also more or less blind, I'm not totally blind but have very poor sight. "I don't go out a lot, I potter round the garden, otherwise I sit in the chair. As people go past they call out and come over and have a wee chat." Mrs Rushworth said the thieves would not have known her age, but she did not believe that would have stopped them. "The fact is, they will take things from anyone. Age is no deterrent, they seem to attack anybody these days. "The thing that worries me is will they go further and try and break in? "I do make sure my doors are locked. "I've always been quite careful about that." Mrs Rushworth's daughter, Margaret Dredge, was horrified by the theft, which she described as a "callous act". As for Mrs Rushworth, she just hopes someone will recognise the chair and it will be returned. "It would just make my day."
