An urgent appeal has been launched after a car of former jockey and wheelchair tennis player Sarah Gaisford containing specialist equipment crucial to her independence and sporting career was stolen.

The car is a blue VW Golf Estate R-Line 1.5 eTSI , registration number WF25 SDO.

Sarah, from Buckfastleigh, was paralysed from the chest down following a devastating racing fall at Exeter Racecourse in 2007.

The accident changed her life forever, but Sarah rebuilt her future through extraordinary determination, becoming one of Britain’s leading wheelchair tennis players.

Her stolen vehicle contained her specialist sports wheelchair, tennis rackets and essential sporting equipment and a freewheel which she uses to walk her dog.

Before her accident, Sarah was a highly respected jockey who rode 50 point-to-point winners and 14 winners under Rules.

Following her spinal injury, she eventually took up wheelchair tennis, where she rose through the rankings to become one of the top players in Britain.

Sarah has previously been ranked ninth in Great Britain and was inside the world rankings for wheelchair tennis racing 70.

The specialist tennis wheelchair is uniquely adapted and made to measure for Sarah.

It is enormously expensive to replace.

Friends say the theft has taken away not just equipment, but Sarah’s independence, mobility and ability to compete and to train.

“I am absolutely devastated and in shock.

“This theft has taken everything from me that I need to live a fulfilling and healthy life.

“Its my socialisation as well.

“Tennis has given me a purpose, a goal and something to focus on.

“I just hope the car and my chair turns up and I can get back to my life again,” said Sarah.

Residents across the region are being urged to: check CCTV and dash cam footage, look in lay-bys, lanes and car parks for abandoned specialist equipment, report any sightings immediately to Devon & Cornwall Police - the crime reference number is 50260124473.