Alfie Watts, the winner of Race Across the World, experienced a distressing incident on Tuesday night in Cardiff when his car was broken into and his laptop was stolen. The theft occurred while Watts was on a school tour, aiming to engage young people in discussions about positivity and mental health.
Details of the Theft
Watts, 22, parked his vehicle at Howard Place for about 20 minutes. During this short period, an opportunistic thief smashed a window and took a laptop bag from under his seat. The device contained important presentations for his talks.
“I honestly reckon someone is just like 50-50, either there’s something in there for me to take or there isn’t,” Watts expressed, highlighting his frustration over the incident. This theft marks a low point for him, following two unrelated thefts in the past two months.
Impact on Scheduled Talks
Despite the theft, Watts confirmed that the material on his laptop was backed up online, ensuring that his three scheduled talks, including one at Mount Stuart Primary School in Cardiff Bay, would proceed as planned. “I’m not one to shy away from documenting the hard times as well as the good times, and this one’s a low point sadly,” he stated.
Watts has been actively sharing his experiences with his 320,000 followers on Instagram, providing inspiration and messages of resilience. He recently completed a significant fundraising effort, raising £50,000 for mental health charity Young Minds by driving a tuk-tuk from London to Norway.
Police Response and Community Reaction
A spokesperson for South Wales Police acknowledged the distress caused by car crime, stating that being a victim is “upsetting, costly, and inconvenient.” The police confirmed they have received Watts’ report and will check the CCTV footage available at the scene. However, they noted that no suspects had been identified yet.
Watts, who previously traveled over 9,300 miles across eastern Asia during his time on the BBC series, reflected on the incident. “I know it’s not an indictment of the people of Wales, and particularly not the city of Cardiff. It’s just an enormous frustration,” he remarked.
- Incident occurred on Tuesday night in Cardiff
- Alfie Watts had his car window smashed
- Laptop and personal items stolen
- No suspects identified by police
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by BBC News. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
