BRAVE schoolboy Tyler Hallawell has been given a brand new Xbox to replace one stolen in a burglary.
The 11-year-old, who came home from school to find a man in his house rifling through his family’s possessions, was given the games console by supermarket giant Asda.
Last week The News told how Tyler stayed calm as he called police and alerted neighbours to what was happening in his Shawford Grove, Leigh Park.
Within minutes police arrested a man.
When Catherine MacDonald, the customer services manager at Asda, in Portsmouth, heard the story she thought the young hero deserved a treat.
She said: ‘He was so brave. We think he is a remarkable boy to think on the spot and know to go outside to safety.
‘He is very wise to have known to call 999.’
Tyler, who wants to be a policeman when he leaves school, came home from school on Tuesday last week at 1.45pm.
As he let the dog out he saw two legs dangling from a window.
The burglar made a run for it but took items including a PlayStation, an Xbox, jewellery and an iPad.
His mum Shelly said the gesture by Asda brought tears to her eyes.
The 28-year-old mum of two, said: ‘To be honest with you I cried.
‘After what we’ve been through you start to lose faith in people.
‘This was such a nice thing to do for Tyler because it took his mind off it for a while, while he set it all up.’
The burglary has meant much more than just a loss of possessions.
Mrs Hallawell has had to give up her job at a care home because the children do not feel safe unless she walks them to school each day.
She said: ‘Tyler is really, really struggling.
‘I don’t think people realise how badly this affects families. He can’t even sleep on his own at the moment and wakes up crying in the middle of the night.
‘He wants us to move but it’s not as easy as that. We have a mortgage.
‘I sit indoors fearful of everybody that walks past if I don’t recognise them.
‘We are really going through a horrible time.’
· A man has appeared in court charged with three counts of burglary – one in Leigh Park, one in Clanfield - and one in Surrey.
Daniel Styles, 26, of Overton Crescent, Havant, will next appear before Portsmouth Crown Court on April 22.
Comments