A FOURTEEN-year-old boy had a six-inch kitchen knife held to his throat in a public park as his prized mountain bike was stolen.

Alex Bowman has been left "scared to death" after two adult men threatened to kill him unless he handed over his £600 green Cube bike at the entrance to Stewart Park in Middlesbrough yesterday evening (Saturday).

He was on his way to play football with a friend when he stopped to check the tyres on his bike at the park entrance near to Marton Country Club, at about 6.30pm.

He told The Northern Echo: "The man grabbed the bike and was trying to pull it away so I held on to it. Then I looked up and saw he had one of those kitchen knives, the six-inch ones, the biggest ones that you get in a knife block."

He handed the bike over after the hooded man, and another man hiding in nearby bushes, threatened to kill him if he didn't.

Alex's mother, Marie Stuart, said: "He is petrified - it's scared him to death. They picked on a defenceless child, who was enjoying being out on his bike with his friend, enjoying the fresh air and exercise.

"I just want his bike back. I worked so hard for it.

"That bike was a Christmas present and he loved it and went everywhere on it because he is really into mountain biking. He cycled to Redcar and Great Ayton and all over.

"I am just so relieved he wasn't harmed. He did the right thing giving them the bike when he was threatened and I am proud of him for doing that.

"How do these people think they have the right to threaten a child with a knife? I just want to warn people to be careful because there are people like this around with knives."

Alex said the first man had a deep voice, was aged about late teens or early 20s, wearing an Adidas tracksuit, with his hood up. He was riding a black and silver mountain bike, and had a light grey scarf over his face.

He could not see the second man very well because was in the bushes with his hood up, wearing a black tracksuit.

Alex's uncle, Ross Wilson, has set up a fundraising appeal to help replace Alex's bike and kind-hearted strangers had already donated over £300 this afternoon.

Mr Wilson said: "Obviously apart from being a horrible experience for a fully-grown man to take a bike from a lad who's barely a teenager (to add to which using a knife made it all the more terrifying), he only got the bike for Christmas."

The appeal is on www.gofundme.com/rqbpn3b

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact Cleveland Police on 101 quoting event number Y60088, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.