An autistic boy with an obsession for vacuum cleaners is heartbroken after thieves stole his prized Henry hoover from his front garden.
Toby Weight, aged four, displays his collection of 12 vacuums in his garden as an alternative to traditional gnomes.
But he is gutted after thieves stole his Henry while he was out.
His mum Laura Weight, 33, of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said: “He was really confused and kept saying ‘where has Henry gone?’
“Sure enough, Henry had been taken. He was so upset.”
Toby has been a vacuum cleaner fan for around two-and-a-half years and his most cherished examples are his matching Henry and Hetty.
Laura said: “Henry and Hetty are his first loves. Every time we came home Toby would go and say hello to Henry.
“Toby’s always been obsessed with Henry vacuum cleaners and we’d had the old Henry, which didn’t work, outside in the garden for months.”
Once the family realised the hoover theft, their neighbour Sharon Bradley wrote about it on Facebook.
Her status was shared 50 times and the next day two replacement vacuums were donated as a kind-hearted donation.
Laura said: “It’s so nice that people got together to help.
“After it was shared on Facebook, I did have visions of waking the next morning and finding the front garden full of vacuum cleaners.
“It is really good of the community here to help out.
“This means a lot to Toby, that is his comfort.”
