Hope residents rally to raise nearly £400 to fund a new bike for a child after theft

Ethan Smythe, from Hope, received a new bike for his 13th birthday - only for it to be cruelly stolen barely a week later on Saturday night.

However, residents of Tudor Court in Hope - where Ethan and his mum Nicky live - raised £375 in just one day for Ethan to buy a new bike.

An emotional Nicky explained: "I am a single mum with two jobs to make ends meet. I saved up for a new mountain bike for Ethan's 13th birthday which was on March 27 so he had only had the bike a week.

"On Saturday night the bike was stolen from our garden and during such a horrible time in the world this just seemed even more upsetting.

"Ethan is an only child and this is a really difficult time for him as he has no social interaction, other than with mates on the Xbox.

"Each day we have been going for a bike ride as our daily exercise during lockdown. He has looked forward to his bike ride every day. For his bike to then be stolen and no more bike rides was devastating for him.

"The bike cost £400, plus as an additional birthday present I had bought him some new specialised pedals for the bike which were £30. So in total a £430 has gone."

Nicky said she rang the police on Sunday morning to report the theft and posted about it onto a Facebook group for Tudor Court residents asking if anyone had seen anything.

Later in the day Ethan and Nicky decided to go and look around the surrounding fields to see if there was any evidence of the bike.

But when she got home she had the most touching of surprises.

She said: "When I got to my front door flowers and chocolate had been left on my doorstep. I later found out they were off my neighbour Kate Manning.

"And in the evening Ruth (another neighbour) contacted me to say she wanted to transfer some money into my Paypal account as a little treat for Ethan to cheer him up. This in itself made me emotional and I couldn't believe how kind people were being to us.

"I received a notification from my Paypal and noticed it was a large amount. So I went into messenger to send Ruth a message to say she'd input it in wrong and I'd transfer it back but I noticed a group had been created in my messenger messages so I opened the message.

"I could barely read the messages without bursting into tears - Ruth had set up the group with all my neighbours asking if anyone would like to donate to help get Ethan a new bike.

"She provided her bank details and instantly people started to donate. It had been going on all day without me knowing.

"I read through all of their messages in tears and in shock. Some of my neighbours parents and siblings donated. They don't even know us. Another neighbours children donated their Easter money. I was totally overwhelmed."

A total of £375 was raised, and Nicky says after lockdown, she will be throwing a huge party to thank the local community.

She added: "A really horrible and upsetting morning was followed by the most amazing acts of kindness I have ever known.

"I can't begin to thank everyone enough and I feel truly blessed to live here. There are more good people in the world than bad."

Ethan has now ordered his new bike, and while he was unable to get the same one he had previously, he is said to be over the moon about the new bike.