YOBS broke into a beach hut memorial to a much-loved father and stole a paddleboard.

Widow Katie Zahorchak had saved up so she could afford the board for her four children.

But shortly after buying it she was shocked to find thieves had broken into her beach hut near Hove Lagoon and stolen it.

The 41-year-old, who lives in the Preston Park area of Brighton, said: “We spend so much time at the beach hut, it’s our happy place.

“The kids have wanted a stand-up paddleboard for a long time and they were so excited to use it in the summer.

“It’s shocking for this to happen to anyone, but to do it to this beach hut, which is a memorial to my husband, is disgusting.

Katie’s husband, Nathan, died in 2014 aged just 39.

She said: “I lost him very suddenly. He had made an enquiry on the beach hut the day before he died so I went through with it.

“He was a young man and this seemed a more fitting memorial to him than a headstone.

Katie said she knew beach huts in the area had been vandalised before but her hut was still padlocked so she believes the thieves picked the lock and locked it after them.

She said: “When I went to visit the beach hut it was padlocked up and looked normal. But I knew something was wrong because I have a photo of my late husband on the door and I saw that it had been flipped around.

“When I opened the door all the stuff was in different places.

“They also took a really sharp kitchen knife and I think they might have used the stove as it was not in the position I always leave it.”

Kate is asking people in Brighton to look out for the paddleboard, which is made by Bluefin and is 10ft 6in long.

She said: “I would like to ask people to please help us get it back. It was something we had desperately wanted and would have brought us so much joy. The kids are really upset.

Katie reported the theft to Sussex Police. A force spokesman said: “An inflatable paddleboard, cutlery and cups were stolen from a beach hut in King’s Road, Brighton, in a burglary between 6pm on April 5 and 12.30pm on April 6.

“Anyone with information is asked to report online or call 101 quoting serial 240 of 09/04.”