A TEENAGER was left distraught when his school bag containing a year's hard work was stolen.

Greg Moffitt, 14, left his yellow Doctor Marten's double-zipped rucksack in his Southampton school classroom while he made a phone call.

When he returned just five minutes later he found the bag was missing - along with text books and personal study notes he needs to sit his Key Stage 3 SATS exams in just three weeks' time.

He said: "I won't be very happy if I can't get them back. I won't do as well without them and my GCSE grades depend on these exams."

Mother Lin Moffit said: "I've never seen a 14-year-old sob so hard. A whole year's work has gone down the drain."

Greg's Chamberlayne Park School, at Weston, Southampton, said they will lend him text books to replace his English, maths and science SATS reference books.

But they cannot replace the notes he has painstakingly made in class to prepare for his exams over the past year.

Mrs Moffitt said she was not worried about the bag but begged the culprit or anyone with any information to approach the school.

She said: "Even if they just know the whereabouts, we would be very grateful. All his notebooks were in the bag with his notes and everything.

"I'm not worried about the bag as long as he gets his books back."

Anyone with any information should contact Mrs Moffitt at her Crookham Road home in Weston by calling 023 8039 1383. Alternatively, PC Steve Harris at the Southampton Police crime desk can be contacted in confidence by calling 0845 045 4545.