Thieves steal disabled man's custom-built trike from outside his home

[dutchman]

Simon Stevens is appealing for the return of the trike



Thieves stole a £3,000 specially-built trike from a disabled Coventry man right outside his home.

Born with cerebral palsy, Simon Stevens needs the trike to keep healthy and active, but that has now been taken away from him.

His disability means his speech, balance and hand control are affected and uses an electric wheelchair to get around.

Only on Sunday, Simon, 43, completed the HSBC UK City Ride, but just this morning, he heard the thieves break into the caged area outside his home on Stoney Stanton Road to steal the trike.

It now means any hope of him staying fit - both physically and mentally - has been dashed.

Simon said: “This £3,000 bike was built for me specifically to ride for physical and mental health.

“It was stolen from my home - I heard them cut the bars to the caged, locked area.”

The trike - known as The Bullet - is an innovative low-sitting trike designed by Tomcat UK.

He recently told the Telegraph the Bullet will assist him with keeping fit, strengthening muscles and give him a sense of independence.

He told us: “I believe the Bullet will certainly help me keep fit, strengthen my muscles, and allow me to lose some weight when I need to,” he says.

“More importantly, I also believe it will assist me with managing my mental well-being. When I feel frustrated with the everyday stresses of work and passionate interactions on social media, a ride on the Bullet will be an enjoyable and positive way to relieve that frustration.

“The lack of support from services obliges individuals such as myself to try and self-fund or hunt down alternatives if we are to maintain a better quality of life.

Simon now feels his personal safety has been compromised after the theft of his trike.

“It means any hope of staying fit physically and mentally is dashed and my personal safety compromised.

“This bike was designed for me, why do this?

“I just want it back.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “We are investigating reports of a theft of a trike in Stoney Stanton Road, Foleshill, at around 6.30am today.

“Anyone with information can call us on 101 quoting the reference 20CV/201374U/17.

[dutchman]

Stolen specialist trike returned



A Coventry man has had his specialist trike returned after thieves stole it, only a week after he'd taken delivery of it.

Simon Stevens has cerebral palsy and waited six months for the bike to be specially made and delivered to him.

He posted on his blog that the bike was returned on Tuesday evening "by a man who was not willing to wait around and answer questions".

A crowd-funding page raised more than £3,300 for a replacement which will now be used for "funding... repairs, security improvements and new kit," he said.