Board theft on CCTV

CCTV footage filmed at the bottom of Boutport Street in Barnstaple shows the moment two young boys fetched a woman who appears to be their mother to steal a skateboard.

Robin Courtnadge, a DJ and barman from Ilfracombe, said he was "gutted" to lose his prized board, and shocked to see it stolen in such a bizarre fashion on CCTV.

Robin, 35, had been preparing to host a party for a friend who was leaving his job at cocktail bar Shintori when the theft occurred.

He runs fortnightly open mic nights at the bar, and had parked his Citroen C-15 van outside while unloading it.

"To get the guitars out of the van, I had to take the skateboard out and just leaned it against the side of the van," he said

"But I forgot to put it back in and when I came back out it was gone.

"My first thought was I was a stupid fool for leaving it out there. It has huge sentimental value because I bought it from an old friend who didn't really want to part with it. To have been so careless with it is gutting."

The area is covered by CCTV cameras, so Robin asked to look at the tapes and see if the thief could be caught. When the footage was reviewed Robin could not believe what he saw.

The footage shows two young lads of about 8 get out of a car accompanied by an adult, approach the skateboard and examine it.

They leave the board by the van and disappear. They return minutes later with a woman who picks up the board and walks off with it tucked under her arm.

Robin is not angry about the theft, he just wants the 15-year-old, 47-inch long cruiser back.

"You won't find another like it," he said. The more angry you are with the people who nicked it, the less chance there is of getting it back.

"What concerns me is that to someone who doesn't know the value of the board it's just £20."

If you are the adult in the footage or have any information about the incident, call the police on 101 quoting reference CB12/3138.

Visit www.thisisnorth devon.co.uk to see the CCTV video in full.