The team striving to help a little boy from Chislehurst come home for the first time have been dealt a big blow.
Billy Byrne, from DIY SOS Big Build, had his tools stolen from his van on Wednesday (October 17) which were worth thousands of pounds.
Presenter of the show Nick Knowles said: "Upset site in Chislehurst. Our Billy’s had his van broken into and he’s lost all his tools, damage to the van, so many good people here gutted."
Upset site in Chislehurst. Our Billy’s had his van broken into & he’s lost all his tools, damage to the van, so many good people here gutted
— Nick Knowles (@MrNickKnowles) October 17, 2018
The heroic builders are in Chislehurst after hearing about two-year-old Arlo who was born with a rare lung disease and is the only child in the UK to suffer the genetic mutation.
UPDATE - Charity offers £2,000 to DIY SOS to replace stolen tools nicked from van in Chislehurst
Arlo has lived in Kings College Hospital since birth and needs 24/7 oxygen.
However, the DIY SOS team want to bring him home by building an extension and redesigning the family's ground floor to adapt to the boy's needs.
Despite the disappointment of the stolen van, Nick said it would not harm his view of Chislehurst and described van thefts as all too common.
He tweeted: "We are working with so many amazing people from the area this will not effect our view - it’s a national problem."
We are working with so many amazing people from the area this will not effect our view - it’s a national problem https://t.co/6b5eMZzpQk
— Nick Knowles (@MrNickKnowles) October 17, 2018
The Chislehurst community has responded kindly and a GoFundMe link has been set up to repay the costs of Billy's tools.
Link to frundraiser - https://www.gofundme.com/bringing-back-bbc-billys-tools
BBC's SOS crew started work on October 16 and were due to finish by October 25.
Arlo's parents Mike and Chantel Newcombe are currently having specialist training so they can give Arlo the right care when he's finally home.
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