PENSIONER Kenneth Peele’s efforts to improve his fitness were thwarted when he ordered a leg exerciser and it arrived without a remote control.

The 88-year-old, who has limited mobility, wanted to build up the strength in his pins and thought the circulation exerciser he saw advertised in a Chums catalogue would be just the ticket.

He could use it while sitting in comfort and the promotional material said it could help deal with problems caused by lack of mobility.

So he paid £129.99 and when it arrived unpacked it eagerly only to find no sign of a remote.

It was useless to him without the zapper because he could not bend to the floor to switch it on. He contacted the mail-order firm and after a remote failed to arrive, he decided to return the machine.

He was given a couple of local addresses to make the return and ended up going on a wild goose chase on his mobility scooter from his home in Farnborough Road, to discover they didn’t exist.

It was then that he contacted the Advertiser for help. “I can’t walk very far without my sticks and I was wanting to use it to keep my legs going,” he explained.

“I’ve spoken to three different people in the company and they have all given me different answers. The last one said she would try to get a remote control and if she couldn’t she would have it picked up.”

He added: “That was three weeks ago. It has been sitting here ever since.”

Manager Lesley Davies told the Adver that Chums, which is based in Knowsley, Liverpool, would arrange to collect the exerciser from his home and the money was already being put back on his card. “It seems the product was not received with the remote control as was advertised. We are taking that up now with the manufacturer,” she said.

“I can only apologise, we were not made aware by the manufacturer that it didn’t have the remote when it was chosen to go in the catalogue.” She pledged the exerciser would be picked up within the next couple of days and Mr Peele would be offered a full refund.

She added: “We will make sure he doesn’t lose out.”