A Warwickshire family has been left devastated and are pleading for information after their handmade toy cars were stolen from their lockup.

The two cars were made by Jeremy Whyman, a retired dentist who does carpentry and woodwork in his spare time. He made them for his young grandchildren almost twenty years ago to be passed down generationally.

The cars, one of which is a model of a pale blue Land Rover Defender and the other a dark green Jeep, were fitted with golf buggy motors for the children to race around the garden on them.

As the boys grew up, the toys were locked away until the next generation of Whymans came along.

Jeremy’s son, Andy Whyman has shared the family’s devastation at losing the bespoke and beloved toys.

He said: “My dad, who built both of the cars, was a dentist by trade for 40 years, but he’s always been a keen carpenter and woodworker. He still works in his garage making wooden things.

“He wanted to create something special for his grandchildren. For both of the girls, he built beautiful shoulder-high rocking horses. And for the boys, he built these incredible wooden cars, a pale blue Land Rover Defender for my son, and a dark green Jeep for his cousin.

“They’re powered by two golf buggy motors with 12-volt batteries. The Land Rover even has a matching trailer, built to look exactly like the car – same colour, same construction style. That’s one of the things that makes it really unique.”

Andy continued: “They were built around 16 or 17 years ago, and the kids used them until they were well into their teens. Then, because my parents were moving house and we’d run out of space, I put them into a lock-up for storage.

“The kids just loved them. They’d spend all day driving around. They were actually quite powerful, we’ve got a field at the back of the house, and they’d go right across it, even when it was muddy.

“They probably went about six or seven miles an hour – not mega quick, but a lot faster than your average ride-on toy from Toys R Us!”

“We’re all just devastated about it. It’s like being burgled – you feel violated. But what makes it worse is these were never just toys.

“They were meant to be heirlooms, something to pass down through the generations.

“My dad spent months building each one. The idea was that once the kids grew out of them, we’d store them, and when they had their own kids, we’d bring them back out. It was all about creating something that would last.

“They were never meant to be sold – they were part of our family’s history. They’re irreplaceable. He put so much into building them, and the value for us was never about the money. It was about the memories – it’s about our dad’s and the kids’ grandad’s legacy for years to come. If anyone knows anything, please get in touch.”

The cars were stolen from a lockup in Northend, in South Warwickshire.

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