A LITTLE boy, who lost his father in a tragic speedboat crash has been robbed of a secure future by thieves.

Raiders targeted the company owned by Kevin Rowsell just three weeks after was killed in the accident on the River Itchen.

Now Kevin's grief-stricken family say the raiders may have deprived his only son Connor, four, of a huge investment into a trust fund.

The 35-year-old owner of outboard motor repair and sales company Solent Outboards died after a late-night collision on the river last month.

He had no insurance cover and his grieving family say they were going to use the £5000 profit from the sale tools stolen in the raid to secure little Connor's future. Now Kevin's brother David is offering a reward to catch the raiders, who cut the burglar alarm before ransacking the workshop in Vespasian Road, Bitterne Manor.

David, 41, of Navigators Way, Hedge End, said: "Whoever did this has stolen from the grave.

"Virtually everything Kevin owned was in that workshop and we were going to sell most of it to provide Connor with a trust fund until he was older.

"The value of the stolen tools adds up to about half of what the boy's fund would have been - they have stolen his future security."

He said the premises were not insured against theft and that his brother, of Englefield Road, Bitterne Manor, did not own any other property or have life insurance.

David, a coach fitter, said: "We only buried him a week last Monday and I cannot believe someone has been so callous.

"My brother built his business up over the last five years and this has just rubbed salt into our wounds."

He added that the Kevin's company could not be sold because the lease on the building had almost expired and the firm could not continue without him.

Connor's mother Symone Lange, 30, from Bishopstoke, who separated from Kevin about two years ago, said: "This is disgusting - there are some very sick people about.

"Kevin was one in a million. We were still good friends and he saw Connor every Sunday," said Miss Lange.

An inquest into the tragedy is to be held at a later date.

Detective Sergeant Paul Barton, of Southampton Central CID, who led investigations into last month's speedboat crash, said: "This was a sickening crime which has caused further grief to a family who have already suffered the loss of a loved one.

"Mr Rowsell had worked hard to build up his business and to have someone take advantage of his death in this way is quite despicable."

Anyone with information should contact Hampshire Police on 0845 045 4545.