Appeal after disabled woman's 'voice' device is stolen in Glasgow Published duration 28 March 2018

image copyright Maryann Scott image caption Maryann was looking forward to her 21st birthday next week

A young disabled woman has been left unable to communicate after the device she relies on to do so was stolen.

Maryann Scott's communicator was taken while she attended college on Tuesday and without it, she cannot 'speak' to her family, friends or lecturers.

Her college work, certificates and treasured family photos were also taken when the bag the machine was in went missing.

Her mother Liz McGowan said: "She has been left with no voice."

Liz McGowan has appealed to friends, fellow students and even Maryann's favourite soap characters from River City to help spread the word and get the device back.

image copyright Liz McGowan image caption The missing device

The communicator is worth £4,500 and is irreplaceable to Maryann, but is completely useless to anyone else.

Liz believes someone may have thought it was a laptop when they took the bag.

She told the BBC Scotland news website: "It's her voice. It talks for her. It used eye control and she is really fast with it. Without it, she tried to write sentences on an iPad but it takes a long long time and it is frustrating.

image copyright Liz McGowan image caption Maryann Scott with her mum Liz McGowan

"I haven't slept. Maryann came home yesterday and it wasn't there. Her carer told me when Maryann found out, it was like someone had died. She was screaming.

"We need to get it back and I just want whoever has it to return it or leave it somewhere then tell police."

image copyright Liz McGowan image caption Maryann with River City star Francis Gallagher

Maryann is due to celebrate her 21st birthday on 8 April with a party. But now she will be struggling to communicate with her guests if she does not have her device.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow Kelvin College, where the communicator went missing, said: "The college is very concerned regarding the theft from our Springburn campus of an essential communication device owned by a student at the college.

"The matter is being investigated by Police Scotland and we are assisting them with their inquiries. We hope that, as a result of the investigation, the device will be returned quickly to our student."

Police Scotland confirmed enquiries were at an early stage.