A desperate mother is scouring internet selling sites after break-in thieves stole bikes bought as Christmas presents for her two children.

Eastern Daily Press: The Alpha Plus Cruiser in mint green that was stolen from its devastated young owner in Gorleston.The Alpha Plus Cruiser in mint green that was stolen from its devastated young owner in Gorleston. (Image: Stacey Wright)

Stacey Wright of Edinburgh Avenue, Gorleston, found out the bikes along with fishing and gardening equipment had been taken from the family's garage in a nearby block.

The thieves gained entry through the triple-locked garage leaving no sign of a break-in.

Once inside they helped themselves to three bikes and equipment worth around £2000.

Mrs Wright said the children were particularly upset.

Eastern Daily Press: Leo Wright tries out his new bike bought as a Christmas present but stolen from his family's garage in Gorleston.Leo Wright tries out his new bike bought as a Christmas present but stolen from his family's garage in Gorleston. (Image: Stacey Wright)

Adding to her dismay was the fact that it was 12-year-old Leo who first discovered the bikes were gone.

She said: 'My son went on his own to get his bike out to go to his friend's after school and he came back and said the bikes were gone. I thought he was joking at first but when he said he wasn't I felt awful.

'The fact that we worked really hard for them and someone did not care about what they were doing and who they were upsetting is terrible.'

The 32-year-old said Phoebe, aged 10, was distraught and unwilling to leave her mother's side.

'The first thing Leo said to me this morning was 'I wonder if they have been back,'' she added.

Three bikes were stolen in the break-in that took place between Sunday and Tuesday afternoon.

One is a girl's mint-green cruiser shopping bike and the other two are both Carrera mountain bikes which cost £270 each and were bought for family days out in Thetford Forest.

Because the family's budget did not stretch to buying them outright Mrs Wright and husband Nicholas split the cost with her mother-in-law and the bikes were not insured.

In a bid to recover them Mrs Wright, a kitchen assistant at Great Yarmouth High School, has been scouring internet selling sites and contacting bike shops.

Although she has little hope of getting them back she is keen to warn others about the security risk even though her garage was triple locked with padlocks.

Mr Wright, a landscape gardener, has also been driving round the streets in the hope of spotting them.

The burglary took place between Sunday January 29 and Tuesday February 3.

Anyone with information can call Yarmouth police via 101.