TEENAGER Finley Rose is on the road again after his stolen bike was replaced with a donated machine worth more than £500 from a Swindon cycling shop.

On Monday, the 14-year-old fell victim to a bike thief for the fourth time in as many years, when his cycle was taken from the back garden at his home in Boldrewood, Liden.

After learning about Wiltshire Police’s appeal for information to help officers trace the £600 bike, Hargroves Cycles in Penzance Drive decided to step in.

Director Peter Hargroves and his team were touched by the story of Finley and his mother Donna, 39, who is battling cancer and often left unable to drive due to chemotherapy.

“We hear of bikes being stolen daily, but obviously due to the circumstances it touched us a little more,” a spokesman for the store said.

“We wanted to help someone get either a donated bike or get donations coming in to provide a lock for the future.”

Peter decided to donate a bike worth between £500 and £600 to Finley, who was presented with his new wheels on Wednesday.

It was on Tuesday night, after a day working with the police to track down the bike, that Donna got a call from the shop with the good news.

She said: “I told them ‘I don’t know the words to thank you enough for what you have done. I don’t know how to express my gratitude’.

“He told me and I was gobsmacked. I was emotional and trying to speak through emotion.

“I couldn’t stop saying thanks. I didn’t know what to say or do.”

When she told Finley, she said: “His chin nearly hit the floor. He thought it was a joke, because people just don’t do that,” she said. “I know now, people do. They do good things for people.

“Finlay was totally gobsmacked, stood there with his mouth open. He thought ‘is she telling the truth?’.”

The police are continuing to search for the bike, which was stolen on Monday and asked for anyone with information to call them on 101.

If his original bike is returned, Finley has promised to return Hargroves’ kind donation.

“He has shown I have raised a really good person. He made me feel really proud,” added Donna.

She also asked anyone wishing to make any donations in aid of her son’s plight to put them towards Hargroves Cycles’ Cancer Research UK JustGiving page: justgiving.com/QE-Cycle-Fest.