A MOTHER has spoken of her disgust after her severely autistic son's possessions were stolen from her car as she was about to drive him back to college.

Karen Murray said the thieves took two suitcases, two hold-alls and four carrier bags, containing items including clothing, DVDS, brand new trainers, medication, towels, fod, a bus pass, a wallet containing £100, schoolwork and a diary.

She said she had put them in the car on Saturday evening, so she was ready to drive him first thing on Sunday morning to a college in Nottingham for young people with disabilities.

She locked the vehicle, which was parked on the drive way of her home in Dijon Avenue, Acomb.

"But unfortunately, I must have touched the key fob as I went in the house and accidentally unlocked it, so they were able to get in without breaking the window. That means the insurance doesn't cover the theft however."

She said one of the suitcases was later found empty in the Morrisons car park in Acomb, with tins of soup and some of Sam's medication found nearby.

Some more medication had been found in someone's garden, and his school bag, containing his work and diary, had been found hanging on a hedge, but everything else remained missing.

"I think it's terrible," she said. "They must have known the things belonged to someone who wasn't well when they found the medication."

She said a neighbour had told her she had seen a youth trying to shove items back in a suitcase in the street and then walk off, at about 11.50pm on Saturday evening.

She faced a scramble the next day to find enough items for Sam to be able to manage at college. "They had taken his summer clothes so I had to take his winter clothes, and I gave him some of my deodorants and so on."

She said Sam, who is 21 and 6ft 5inches tall, was not upset about the thefts, other than the loss of the DVDs, which were all Disney cartoons.

"It's me that's upset - Sam, who can hardly speak, is in a world of his own," she said.

She appealed for people in the neighbourhood to look out for any other items which might have been abandoned in their gardens.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed the theft of the items had been reported and urged anyone with information to call police on 101.