A Hamilton boy whose PlayStation was stolen at the weekend, while he was playing it, has this morning had the surprise of his life.
Nine-year-old Sam Wigzell was playing Minecraft on Sunday afternoon when a crook wandered in, unplugged his new PlayStation and waltzed on out with it, Newshub revealed on Wednesday.
"On Minecraft I did so much work and I'm really sad," Sam told Newshub. "I did so many things that were really cool. I built the Eiffel Tower, kind of, and another cool tower and a cool house."
Radio station The Breeze was so moved by Sam's story they hooked him up with a new console, courtesy of PlayStation NZ, surprising him at school this morning.
Sam, normally quite a talker, was lost for words.
"Yay! Yay!"
Renee Lawson, his mother, thanked "everyone around the country and Waikato who have given their love and support for Sam".
"It has been incredible, just the amount of love that has come out for Sam, for such a special little boy - because at nine years old, he's gone through a lot. He's a trooper, he gets through it, he carries on. He always has a smile on his face."
Sam described the burglar as between 20 and 30 years old, wearing a grey t-shirt, grey and black pants and a blue bag around his waist.
Speaking to The Breeze earlier, Ms Lawson said she was "absolutely gutted and guilt-stricken" about what had happened. She had just popped out to buy some bread, leaving Sam at home with her flatmate, who lives in a sleepout just outside the back door.
"She'd been in and said to Sam just two minutes beforehand 'If you need anything, just come out and see me.' She went out to her room to get something, and in that couple of minutes, that was when it happened."
Sam was terrified, but had a plan - he gathered up his Nerf guns and locked the doors, but couldn't get one of them to stay locked.
"I felt so bad that I wasn't here for Sam, to know that he was alone, just alone in the house," says Ms Lawson.
"There were people around him - my flatmate was here and I was not far away - but in that moment, he was by himself inside the house. The guilt that comes with that is weighing with me… There's that mum feeling you get inside if you haven't protected your child in the way that you think you should have. Even if they're okay, even if nothing happens, those 'what-ifs' are huge."
Ms Lawson's a solo mum-of-two who works fulltime, and had saved up to buy Sam the console for his birthday in May. She says Sam has been putting on a brave face since the incident.
"He's okay. He seems to be better than what I think he is inside."
Newshub.
