A TEN-YEAR-OLD cyclist has been left heartbroken after two of his bikes were stolen in less than a year.
Joshua McElhill uses his bike to get to and from school and to go riding with his grandfather at weekends.
When his first bike was stolen from the Tesco in Top Valley last October, his mother Catherine Harris bought him a new one for Christmas.
Joshua, who attends Southwark Primary School, in Old Basford, was delighted with his new wheels but was once again targeted by thieves on April 25.
His school went to Headway to see Prince Harry, who was visiting the brain injury charity to officially open its new headquarters, and while they were there, his bike, which was locked, was taken from the school's bike store.
Miss Harris, 33, of Arnold Road, Bestwood, said: "It's absolutely the worst thing to do, to take a bike from a schoolchild when they are out on a special trip is just awful.
"Then Joshua's dad has actually seen the bike being ridden along the street since and it's the gall of it.
"There's not many bikes like it around and Joshua is just gutted. It's horrible because he goes everywhere on it."
Mrs Harris said there were three other bikes in the storage area at the school when Joshua's was stolen.
She believes the school should do more to ensure bikes left in the area are secure. She said: "For a while there was a lot of thefts but then everyone started again and we thought any problem had been resolved.
"I just think it would be better if they moved the bike storage round the back of the building."
Graham Boyd, leader of Southwark Primary School, in Park Lane, confirmed a bike theft had taken place at the school.
However he denied it was a recurring problem.
He said: "Bike theft is not a problem at the school and we've had no incidents this year.
"We have CCTV images available to us and we regularly link up with the police. The CCTV footage has been made available in this latest incident.
"The school is a safe and secure environment whereby we control anyone who enters the site."
