A seriously ill shop owner has been left devastated after masked thieves broke into his Wolverhampton model store and stole thousands of pounds worth of remote control cars.
Father-of-two Stuart Simpson set up Discovery Models, in Lanesfield, just over a year ago after discovering he had a brain tumour.
He said the late-night theft, in which a unique hand crafted £1,500 monster truck model was taken, has put back his schedule for treatment in Thailand as well as leaving his family struggling to survive financially.
Thieves smashed their way into the Turner Avenue shop around 11.30pm on Tuesday before fleeing with at least £3,000 worth of remote control cars and goods.
One of the most precious pieces stolen was a monster truck which Mr Simpson, from Codsall, and his two shop assistants have spent eight months creating from scratch.
“It is just absolutely devastating that someone has done this,” said Mr Simpson.
“I set up the store after discovering I had a brain tumour. I had been working at an insurance company and I didn’t want them to have all the hassle with me having days off due to my treatment.
“We still needed some money coming into the house so we set up this small store. It has never been a big money-making project.
“I don’t know whether these people think you must be rich to own a store so it doesn’t matter if they take things.
“It is just not true and this is going to make it a massive struggle. It is money we just don’t have. I also have to fly out to Thailand to finish off my treatment and this is going to put it back.”
Mr Simpson said neighbours living above the store alerted police when they saw men wearing ski masks breaking in.
“The police got there very quickly but they had already taken the goods,” he said. “They just grabbed whatever they could.”
By Victoria Nash
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