NATHAN Dumschat has sacrificed weekends for years to work and give his three children the motorbikes they love to ride for both sport and leisure.
But the hard work has been in vain after thieves broke into his backyard shed and stole three motorbikes worth $13,000.
Weighing on the family's financial loss is the fact the shed's contents insurance is unlikely to cover the loss of the valuable blue Yamaha YZ85, TTR90 and TTR50 bikes.
Mr Dumschat said his son Kirk, 13, and daughters Mikayla, 11, and Britney, 8, were crushed when they discovered on Wednesday the bikes were the only items stolen from the shed.
"For about 10 years my wife Sheree and I have been scrimping and saving trying to get the money to give our kids these things, and someone just stole them like that," Mr Dumschat said.
"We're still paying off Kirk's bike, and my youngest daughter rides my nephew's bike so that was borrowed."
The angry parent said his eldest daughter also feared for her safety after thieves trespassed on their Daphne Street property.
"She follows me around like a shadow as she's actually scared they will come back. "We can only hope that someone has seen something or has been approached to buy a cheap motorbike," Mr Dumschat said.
Gympie Police Sergeant Vic Tipman said scientific examinations had been conducted, but the theft was still under investigation.
