The family of a young boy with special needs have said his “little piece of heaven has vanished” after thieves stole their caravan.

The caravan was stolen from a storage facility in County Meath and the family are calling for the public’s help in getting it returned.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast for Your Call this morning, mother Fiona Sharkey Carroll said her son Seán has been “a very sick boy all his life.”

“My son is 15,” she said. “He is non-verbal, he has autism and he has no vision in one of his eyes.”

Seán in the family caravan. Image: Sharkey Carroll family

She said lockdown has been particularly difficult for Seán, who is also auto-immune and receives injections for pain.

“The reason the caravan is so important to us is that over the last three months, we have been in lock-up,” she said.

“We live in the Louth Meath area and, because Sean has autism, we were allowed to travel slightly.

“So, we used to go over every second or third day – myself or my husband would take him over. He would have his iPad and his little treat and he would sit in the caravan for a change of scenery to get out of the house.

“This child has been stuck in for three months with no school and that was his little piece of heaven. Now, his little piece of heaven has vanished.”

The family caravan. Image: Sharkey Carroll family

Ms Sharkey Carroll said the family bought the caravan because it allowed them to safely travel with Seán and his sister Aoibhinn.

“We would load it up and go,” she said. “We could cook in it, because Seán has special tastes and special needs, and I would be able to put everything in this caravan and go with Seán and Aoibhinn.

“We are devastated as a family.”

She urged those responsible for stealing the caravan to “have some morals” and consider the effect it has had on the family.

“Go deep down into your soul and think about what you have done to our family,” she said.

The family is calling on anyone who knows anything about the robbery or can help locate the caravan to contact Gardaí.

Their caravan is a six-berth 2014 Sterling Eccles Sport 586 with the registered number SGDST3ESWE0892114.