A paralympic athlete's racing wheelchair has been returned after it was apparently stolen.

John Smith's dreams of competing in Rio were in tatters after his custom-built wheelchair, worth £5,000, was stolen from his West Kingsdown home in the space of 78 seconds.

John, 26, who heard just hours before the theft that he had qualified to race for Team GB in the T54 marathon, released CCTV footage that showed someone get out of the vehicle and take his chair from his van parked on the driveway.

Scroll down for audio and video

"It took exactly six seconds to pull up and take it and speed off, so it's clear they went there knowing what to take," he said earlier this week.

The van is white with roof bars, and has scuffs or glue marks on the sides where stickers have been removed.

John, who trains at Gravesend's Cyclopark, was left devastated by the theft which occurred overnight between Tuesday, June 21, and Wednesday, June 22.

The images show the van first outside his home in Neal Road at 12.51.03am on June 22 and then driving away at 12.52.21am.

However, John did not discover his aluminium-framed chair was missing until he went out to his locked black Renault Traffic van at 8am in the hope of starting his first training session of the day.

Speaking to KentOnline at the time of the theft, John, formerly from Meopham, said: “It is unbelievable. The chair is extremely valuable to me but useless to anyone else. It’s precision-made to fit me.

“It weighs 5kg and is probably worth £20 in scrap. I’m just hoping somebody has played a joke. I’d have rather they left the chair and took the van.

"I start training at 8.30am every morning and went out at 8am to get set up. As I have gone outside I saw my side door was open. I thought at first I'd left it open but then I knew I hadn't because I had the key on me and I lock the van religiously.

"I then saw that the chair had just vanished. I only got the email to say I'd been selected for the Paralympics yesterday too. I'm training three times a day at the moment so the chair is so important to me.

"What really takes the cake is that it's worth nothing to anybody else. It's made for me."

John has now appealed via social media for the chair's safe return, and said he is even willing to pay to get it back. The serial number on the chair is 071505.

"The van is parked outside my bedroom window so I can hear things and, because there was no damage to the van, I thought someone was having a joke with me.

"I cannot get a new chair in time for the games so if it's not returned I will not be going to the Paralympics.

"I need the chair back as soon as possible. It is everything to me and now I have nothing."

The former amateur boxer is ranked number two in Team GB, with only his training partner and six-times gold medallist David Weir above him.

As well as qualifying for the T54 marathon, John also hopes to compete in shorter track events, including the 400m sprint. He is set to fly out to Brazil in September.

John turned his life around after he was shot by gamekeepers when he was 16 and out lamping for rabbits. One of the bullets struck his spine, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.

He spent six months recovering at the world-renowned Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

After battling with the devastating knowledge he would never walk again, John put his determination and courage to the test and began his career as a wheelchair athlete.

He first competed as a seated thrower in the discus, shotput and javelin, before turning his attention to wheelchair racing.

Police said officers are investigating the theft.

Anyone with information should call 01622 604100, quoting crime reference YY/13384/16, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.