LITTLE Amelia Buchanan's parents saved up all year to buy her a £900 motocross bike as a surprise Christmas present.

But on Friday night thieves broke into the family's garage and stole the six-year-old's bike, leaving her mum and dad no time to save up for another one before her first meeting on Boxing Day.

Amelia's cousin is motocross rider Junior Ross, ten, who is fighting back to form after breaking his leg in a freak accident at home in September, missing the final round of the BSM British Championship, in which he had been lying fifth.

Amelia's mum, Debbie Barley, of Brookland Terrace, Cwmcarn, said: "Her cousin does motocross and she really wanted to do it, so we bought her a little motorbike last year.

"She was riding so well on that one we decided to buy her a bigger bike. "We've been saving up all year - £900 is a lot of money for us. We couldn't really afford it, but we wanted to make her happy.

"Her first meeting was going to be in Kidderminster on Boxing Day, but we can't take her now. We had to sell her old bike to help pay for the new one."

She said the bike was taken from their locked garage after 9pm on Friday. "People have told us they saw someone with the bike at about 11pm, which means we would have been in the living-room when it was taken, but there are so many boys on motorbikes around here.

"Our dogs were in the back garden, but they didn't bark. We didn't realise it had gone until Saturday morning."

The bike is a blue and yellow Husqvarna 50cc automatic.

PC Michelle Greatrex, of Risca police, confirmed they are investigating the incident. Contact Risca police on 01633 838111.