PARENTS of a schoolboy who had two of his bikes stolen say it has had a 'psychological effect' on him.

Scott Willson, a Maltings Academy student from Witham, had a bike stolen from his garden in September.

The 16-year-old, of Siward Road?, had his bike replaced but was shocked when it was stolen again from outside his school on April 21.

Karen Newby, his mum, said it has left her son paranoid.

She said: "When Scott goes to school in the morning he checks the door is locked between five and 10 times.

"When he gets to school he locks his bike up and takes a photo of it so he doesn't have to worry whilst he is in class.

"We are installing an alarm system at home so he can break his habits."

His parents, who install CCTV for a living, said police should be quicker at collecting footage for investigation.

Mrs Newby said: "He left school at the end of the day and the bike was gone, the school was already aware that two bikes had been stolen.

"It's concerning who can just walk into the school premises, the delay in police picking up the footage is also an issue.

"It never bothered Scott before his first bike was stolen, he shouldn't be worrying about people breaking into the house.

"It's just sad that children are experiencing crime at such a young age."

Scott's parents have been left £800 out of pocket as they have had to replace both bikes.

Emma Baker, headteacher at Maltings Academy, said the school is working closely with the police.

She said: "It's very sad that members of the public are stealing our students' bikes.

"As soon as we are aware we work very closely with police and we are doing everything possible."

A spokesman for Essex Police said: We assess every call based on the threat, harm, and risk to the public and vulnerability involved in the inci- dent and respond accordingly.

“The victim can rest assured this incident is under investigation.”