THE mother of a four-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis has had her car stolen - so the family will not be able to take their annual holiday.

Deborah Hadley takes her son, Kieran, and his two brothers away each year to Thorpe Park, Cleethorpes, north Lincolnshire, for a well-earned break from her daily routine of school drop-offs, hospital appointments and trips to the chemist.

But, on Friday night, thieves made off with Mrs Hadley's Vauxhall Cavalier from outside her home in High Street, Skelton, east Cleveland.

Police found the car later in a nearby street, resprayed and with a new ignition.

But it has now gone to the scrapyard because 33-year-old Mrs Hadley, who is separated from her husband, cannot afford to get it mended.

"I had another car stolen 18 months ago and my insurance doubled afterwards, so if I claim again I will not be able to afford the insurance," she said."I can't keep the car on the road."

Kieran was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a baby and doctors believe he has a life expectancy of between 30 and 40 years.

He needs regular visits to the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and has to take medication each day.

Mrs Hadley's eldest son, Daniel, six, is asthmatic, has an immune system problem and a rare blood disorder and is also in and out of hospital.

Thankfully, two-year-old Benjamin is fit and well but Mrs Hadley has a hectic schedule caring for the three boys, and her car is her lifeline.

"It's so stressful," she said. "I'm at the doctor's twice a week, back and forth to the hospital and I also have to pick up all Kieran's medication, which fills a large bag. I don't know how I'm going to cope now.

"The holiday at the end of June was just a chance to get away from it all. Kieran loves it and we all look forward to it. I have got no chance of getting there now.

"Trying to struggle with three children on a bus is impossible.

"I felt like crying when I saw the car. The thieves don't realise what they have done and the problems they have caused."

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said officers were investigating.