Peterborough chef’s stolen bike replaced by an act of kindness

Daniel Selcraig with Liam Sidaway and his new bike.

During a shift at Apple Cart, in Cardea, chef Liam Sidaway had his bike stolen which was his only mode of transport to work and back.

The pub put out an appeal on Facebook in the hope those responsible would come forward, but Liam (27) could never have imagined someone would not only replace his bike but upgrade it!

Owner of Elite Lawn Maintenance Daniel Selcraig saw the appeal and was reminded of his own bike theft when he was starting out and stepped into help.

Liam, who lives in Orton Wistow, said: “My bike had unfortunately been stolen whilst on shift, and I used it to get around and to and from work. It caused a big reaction around the local community when posted on social media. Daniel instantly responded and was nice enough to purchase me a bike, which he then handed to myself personally. I’m very grateful. He has restored my faith in humanity.

Daniel (26) said: “When I was younger and working at my first job I saved up hundreds of pounds to buy a brand new bike. Within two weeks of getting it, I left work to find my lock cut on the floor and the bike gone.

“This was so upsetting and to this day I can still remember the awful feeling of seeing it had gone. When I heard about Liam’s story I knew I couldn’t ignore it and knew that something had to be done for him.

“It’s not acceptable to ever steal someone else’s property but the circumstances behind this were awful.

“He hasn’t been in work that long being a chef with the pandemic and the restaurants closed so I just felt so sorry for him.

“So that night once I had found out what had happened, I ordered him a better model of the same bike and dropped it off at the pub for him. He was delighted with it and it made my day that we were able to do this for him.

“We are just a small family run lawn care business who on this occasion could afford to help someone in a terrible situation out. If we can, we will always help our local community as they have been so supportive with our business adventure since we started in 2019.”