A young boy had £100 worth of Pokemon cards stolen - in front of his own home.

The boy, aged 11, was holding the cards in his hand when the incident occurred in Pamplins, Laindon.

An older child snatched the cards and ran away.

The theft follows a similar incident in Wickford in April when ten-year-old Jonathan Weedon was assaulted and robbed of an expensive silver foil card, called a Charizard, known to change hands for up to £25.

Pokemon began as a Nintendo game four years ago. The biggest craze is for the cards which feature the Pokemon monsters. A pack of 11 cards sells for about £2.45.

Recently police seized £3,000 of counterfeit Pokemons in a Basildon town centre shop and two batches were discovered at a boot sale in Barleylands.

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