FOUR teenagers planning to row around the country for charity have had their trip hampered after thieves stole vital equipment.

Friends Nick Bevan and David Gough, both aged 19, and Rob Pickering and Will Homer, 18, have been training seven days a week for the last six months for the mammoth challenge, which will see them row around Britain in a bid to raise a massive £100,000 for Orchid, a male cancer charity.

But the rowing challenge is now in doubt after four kit bags full of training gear and equipment were stolen.

"We're all still a bit stunned that this has happened," said Nick, who is currently taking a gap year to concentrate on training for the rowing event.

"It's really upsetting, because this was all for charity."

The bags were taken from a red Land Rover parked in Clovelly Road, Coxside, some time between 6pm on Sunday, March 29, and 8.30am the following morning.

The team, from Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, were in the city to check on their rowing boat, which is being built by Landrake-based Woodvale Challenge.

Nick said: "Two of the guys went to the car to get some kit out and saw that someone had smashed the window with a rock and taken four bags.

"They also had a really good rummage around," he said.

The bags contained training clothes emblazoned with the name of each of the rowers and the Orchid logo. They also contained rowing shoes, tracksuits and base-layer clothing.

"If they'd known what was in the bags then the thieves would have known it was a waste of time stealing it," said Nick.

"It's probably going to cost us around £1,500 to replace it all, so now we need to raise more sponsorship.

"We've spoken to the charity and they are just as stunned as we are."

However, the foursome say they're determined the rowing event, due to start on July 1, will go ahead despite the thefts.

"We will find a way to keep going with this," said Nick. "We've got a lot of people counting on us."

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact the police on 08452 777444 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting crime reference number EC093198.