Motorbike theft devastates Josh

By Callan Date
IT took 10yearold Josh Boyton more than three years to save up the $3000 he needed for his dream motorbike and only six months for that dream to be stolen away from him.
His pride and joy, a Yamaha TTR 90 motorbike, was stolen from his Cardinia property last Friday morning while his elderly relative could only watch as the theft took place.
The grade five Cardinia Primary School student collected aluminium cans, sold chicken eggs to neighbours and helped his grandma and grandpa around the house to earn the money needed for his motorbike.
“I cleaned up around the house, helped my pa in the shed and collected the eggs from our chooks to sell,” an upset Josh said.
He had recently began riding again after a collision with a barbed wire fence left him unable to ride for six weeks.
Josh’s grandmother, Cheryl Spooner, said the theft was extremely frustrating and had made her reconsider the security around her country home.
“We came out to Cardinia for the rural life but now we have been locked in and are extremely concerned,” she said.
Josh’s motorbike was not insured and if police are unable to track it down he will have nothing to show for his three years of committed saving.
Ms Spooner was also frustrated by the police response to the crime, saying members failed to attend the scene to ask questions of the relative who witnessed the theft.
“The police didn’t even come out here, they just took the details over the phone and I thought that was pretty slack,” she said.
Acting Senior Sergeant Stuart Halligan of Pakenham Police said it was standard procedure to take the details over the phone, with all facts then passed on to the Crime Investigation Unit.
“With a lot of incidents it is protocol to take reports over the phone and then the crime scene officers would normally attend,” he said.
The Yamaha TTR 90 motorbike is painted blue and white with a distinctive orange stripe on the side.
Anyone with information regarding the stolen motorbike is asked to contact Pakenham police on 5941 1033.