Young siblings left with '˜huge smiles' after Southsea shop replaces their stolen scooters for free

Her children, Toby and Phebe, were distraught to learn thugs had stolen their beloved scooters from the boot of the family car overnight. 

But after telling the story on her Facebook blog, Scooter Kids and the Portsmouth Park Adventures '“ which has more than 2,000 likes '“ Karah was met with an '˜astounding' goodwill gesture. 

Family-run trader Southsea Cycles, in Albert Road, got wind of the incident and offered to give the youngsters new scooters free of charge. 

'˜The kids were really upset when they found out the scooters had been taken,' said Karah, 34, from Copnor. 

'˜They couldn't believe that there were people out there who would do something like that. 

'˜But after the story went out on Facebook, Southsea Cycles messaged me '“ and I cannot describe their kindness.' 

Like many youngsters, Toby, six, and Phebe, nine, '˜loved' their scooters '“ but the incident last Wednesday put a special goal of theirs in jeopardy. 

Karah said: '˜Over the past two years, we have been working on visiting every park in Portsmouth.

'˜That may not seem difficult, but there are more than 100 on Portsea Island and Toby and Phebe visit them all on their scooters. 

'˜That goal is how our Facebook page started and now lots of families follow us, because they use scooters to get around with their kids too.'

Thankfully, this lofty goal was not halted for too long '“ as Southsea Cycles gave the siblings the chance to pick the scooters they wanted online on the day their own went missing. 

And to Karah's surprise, the new rides were assembled and ready to pick up just a day later. 

'˜The kids had huge smiles on their faces when they got the scooters and the staff at the shop were so friendly,' she said. 

'˜Thursday morning was horrible and I was so blown away by the kindness of the shop. 

'˜They're a relatively small, family-run business but their generosity was amazing.' 

She added: '˜When the scooters went missing, I worried the last two weeks of the summer holidays would be tough '“ it's an expensive time for any parent. 

'˜But the good has definitely outshone the bad in this situation.'