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Alfie Watts says the police told him there's "not much they can do" after the theft
ByNicholas Bourne
BBC Wales
Race Across the World winner Alfie Watts has described his "enormous frustration" at having his car broken into and laptop stolen while on a school tour.
His device contained presentations he uses in his talks with young people about positivity, resilience and mental health.
Watts, 22, said he had parked and left his vehicle for about 20 minutes when an opportunist smashed a window and found the laptop bag under his seat at Howard Place, Cardiff, on Tuesday night.
"I honestly reckon someone is just like 50-50, either there's something in there for me to take or there isn't," he said.
Watts said the crime was "a low point" following two other unrelated thefts in the past two months.
The material on his laptop was backed up on the internet so the theft did not affect three scheduled talks from going ahead on Wednesday, including at Mount Stuart Primary School in Cardiff Bay.
Watts faced challenges but no thefts while on his way to winning series four of the BBC's Race Across the World, travelling in excess of 9,300 miles (15,000km) across eastern Asia with his friend Owen Wood.
"I know it's not an indictment of the people of Wales, and particularly not the city of Cardiff," he said.
"It's just an enormous frustration."
Image source, Alfie Watts
The thief also stole a packet of Werther's Original sweets as well as Watts' laptop and a sports racquet
Watts, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, shared his experiences with his 320,000 followers on Instagram.
"The police have told me that there's not much they can do but will check the CCTV on-site," he said.
"As you know, I'm not one to shy away from documenting the hard times as well as the good times, and this one's a low point sadly."
Last year, he spent 192 days travelling around the globe, posting social media content about his experiences.
And he has just raised £50,000 for mental health charity Young Minds by driving a tuk-tuk from London to Norway.
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Watts has been sharing his experiences with young people as part of a tour of 35 schools across the UK to "inspire a message of not giving up, being kind, and believing in yourself".
During his recent travels he's had his mobile stolen by a thief on an electric bike in London while he used his phone to navigate across the city last week.
And he had his original laptop stolen during a bag theft in Santiago, Chile, two months ago.
"I seem to be wanting to set a world record for the amount of capital cities visited and stuff stolen," he said.
"I didn't have any theft issues on the race."
A spokesperson for South Wales Police said being the victim of car crime was "upsetting, costly and inconvenient" and warned that "there are opportunistic thieves who act very quickly to smash and grab any belongings left in vehicles."
The force confirmed it had received Watts' report but said no suspects had been identified.
