A family of ten is despairing after thieves stole nine bikes in a year - leaving them with one.

Furious parents Marcus and Nuala Folan, of Carpenter Close, Littlemore, scrimped and saved last year to buy bikes at Christmas for four of their eight children.

But within two weeks, two had been pinched from a locked shed in the back garden and the other two went missing later. The family replaced them on insurance but now cannot afford to pay the £250 excess.

None of the four children - Thomas, 16, Ciaran, 13, Grainna, 12, and Marcus, 11 - now has a bike. Little brother Padraic, eight, is the only one with a set of wheels.

Ciaran has been hit by thieves five times. Most recently, his bike was taken from St Augustine's School in Iffley Turn within days of his first term there, despite it being locked in a cage. He then borrowed his brother Marcus's bike - and that was taken too.

Only three of the children have escaped the problems. Siobhan, 17, does not want a bike, while two-year-old Sean is too young. Five-year-old Mairead will now not get one because of what has happened. Mum Nuala, who works in customer services for BT, said: "I have just had enough. I'm absolutely furious. We can't claim on the insurance any more because we now have to pay a £250 excess.

"I want to make people aware of how difficult it is nowadays. You can't give the kids anything because it's only going to get stolen from under their noses."

She thought she had the perfect solution to their morning school runs when she spent their hard earned money on bikes for Christmas.

"It was so they wouldn't be late for school any more but it just hasn't worked out. My five-year-old wants a bike for Christmas but she won't be getting one," she said.

"It's impossible to live from day to day anyway. We really scrimped and saved last year to pay for the bikes and Christmas presents. It's just heartbreaking. We really do try hard to make sure the kiddies look good."

Now Nuala is hoping somebody will have a conscious and return the bikes. She said: "They might think they have hit on one family a bit too much. I'm so disheartened. There's just no point in buying another bike."

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