Thieves steal six-year-old’s Christmas present from Stevenage community centre

Reece Govey, 6, had his tablet stolen whilst he was at a club (Image: Archant)

Reece Govey, who lives in Aylward Drive, Stevenage, was given a red Hudl 2 tablet for Christmas after telling his parents he wanted one for two years.

The Year 2 Peartree Primary student was absolutely thrilled when he received it and his mum Lauren Piper said he was using it constantly before it was stolen.

At around 4.50pm on Saturday he was playing with friends in the Shephall Community Centre and left the tablet unattended on a table for 10 minutes.

During this time three men came into the centre and while two of them kept lookout, and in full view of several children, one of them unplugged Reece’s headphones from the device and left with it.

When Lauren, 26, found out what happened she struggled to keep her composure. She said: “I was incredibly angry when Reece told me about it. He thought it was his fault and I had to keep telling him it wasn’t. Maybe he should have kept it with him but that doesn’t give anyone a right to come in and steal it.

“He’s a child as well as and they knew that. And then there’s the fact that there were about eight children sitting close by which makes it even worse. They knew it was a child’s tablet too because it had junior headphones plugged into it.”

Lauren revealed that after the theft several friends and members of the club donated money to buy Reece a new one but she said that was beside the point.

“They’re complete scum. That’s all I can call them. They are full grown men and to steal from a six-year-old is disgusting,” she added.

Anyone with information should call Herts police non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.