AN eight-year-old biking fanatic has defied thieves who stole all of his equipment by winning two regional championships in his first racing year.

Tommy Kelly, from Great Sankey, was left heartbroken when thieves raided his garage at the family home and stole all of his motorbiking equipment worth thousands of pounds.

The heartless thieves were even desperate enough to snatch his first bicycle even though it had no chain.

Five motorbikes were also taken which were race-ready and tuned to his specific needs.

It had been a dream start for the budding biker, as he managed to take the lead in the Cheshire North West Schoolboy Championships before the thieves struck but the burglary looked almost certain to spoil that.

To make matters worse, all the equipment had been paid for by his father, using compensation money received after he was injured during an operational tour of Northern Ireland.

As a result, the family could not afford to replace it and the chances of Tommy making a sparkling debut by winning his first major biking competition began to fade.

But all was not lost, as the plucky youngster managed to hold onto his lead after "making-do" with a borrowed bike until a replacement was found.

And now, four months after the nightmare raid, Tommy has defied the thieves by winning the Cheshire North West Schoolboy and Newton-le-Willows Schoolboys Scramble Club Championships.

Tommy also came second in Wigan's Phoenix 580 Club championship and has been awarded the best newcomer across all the age groups in Cheshire.

Dad Rob, who coaches Tommy with his brother Steve, is delighted with the result.

He said: "I feel very proud because when we first started we would have been very happy if he had just made his way round.

"When we got him his first bike we could see he had something and my brother said 'you've got to race him'. So we put him in and got him a bike and he won his first proper race."

The future looks bright for the eight-year-old, but he could face some stiff competition from his five-year-old brother, Jack, who is set to begin racing next season.

Despite police appeals in the GUARDIAN, the bikes have not been recovered, but the family is still keen to have them returned. They are two Husqvarna 50s, a Kawasaki KX60, a CR125 and a PW50.

Anyone who can help is asked to contact the Stolen Vehicle Squad on 01244 613838 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Tommy is also on the lookout for sponsors and anyone interested can call 488314.