A YOUNG boy was left devastated when thieves stole his mountain bike from outside his home. The family say it was the final straw - after having three bikes stolen in just 12 months. Christopher Greer, eight, asks his mum every night when he gets home from school if his bike has been found.

He had propped it up under the front window of the family's Ripley Street, Tonge Moor home last Friday while he went to a friend's house.

When he returned, just 10 minutes later, his bike had disappeared.

Mum, 31-year-old Anne, said Christopher, a pupil at Castle Hill Primary School, was "devastated."

She said: "He was really proud of his bike. He got it for his birthday at the end of September, and he hadn't had chance to ride it very often because of bad weather.

"It was his first mountain bike and he loved it."

The bike is very distinctive and Mrs Greer hopes someone may have spotted it.

It has a 20-inch silver frame, black wheels, a black seat and black handlebars. Christopher had put dinosaur stickers on the frame.

The bike cost Mrs Greer £100 and she cannot afford to replace it.

Christopher's brothers, 10-year-old David and Philip, 12, have also had their bikes stolen from the garden of the family home, on two separate occasions.

Anyone with information about Christopher's bike can contact the family on Bolton 309386.

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