A BRAVE youngster who has recovered from a rare form of cancer has had his prized Christmas present stolen.

Six-year-old Gazza Nelson, who battled muscle tissue cancer rhabdomyosarcoma as a toddler, was left devastated after his £1,000 mini-motorbike was taken by thieves.

Mum Alexis Roberts, aged 32, believes the family home in Spenser Avenue, Radcliffe, was targeted by waiting burglars as she nipped out on the school run.

Alexis left the front door unlocked while she was out of the house between 3pm and 3.20pm on Monday as 14-year-old daughter Kara was in her bedroom listening to music.

Burglars entered the house through the front door and stole Gazza’s distinctive orange KTM 50 motorbike – leaving a tablet and £20 note nearby untouched.

Alexis said: “It is a very distinctive bike and whoever took it has watched me leaving the house.

“Gazza is devastated — this was his Christmas present.

“Before, he just had cheap motorbikes and when he got cancer he was not able to ride them for about a year and a half.

"Now he is bigger and better at riding them. We thought he deserved a treat — he has had an awful six years.

“We saved all this money for a year to buy the bike and someone just walked in and took it.”

Bike-mad Gazza, who attends Radcliffe Primary School, began riding children’s motorbikes at the age of two but had to stop in 2010 after he was diagnosed with the rare cancer, which affects fewer than 60 children in the UK each year.

Then in 2011, the family had their lives turned upside down again when more than £20,000 in money and possessions were stolen from their home.

The burglary occurred while they were on a trip to Disneyland Paris for Gazza’s fourth birthday after he was granted a wish by the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

The youngster’s eight-year-old brother, Terry, was also treated to a similar bike for Christmas, but it was being repaired when the burglars struck.

Alexis added: “All I can say is if they think it was their son or nephew who had their Christmas present stolen, how would they feel?

“Even if the person doesn’t want to speak to the police, they could just leave the bike on my doorstep. I just want it back.

“This is a bike you would take to a proper track and we go to tracks in Preston and Rochdale.

“The boys live and breathe motorbikes — they absolutely love them. If they are not riding them they are watching them and talking about them.”

● Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, or call Alexis on 0161 724 6165.