Grantham twin sisters' are reunited with stolen trikes

Twin sisters are ‘over the moon’ on being re-united with their specially adapted tricycles, after they were stolen earlier this month.

Danielle and Stacey Rae, 12, who have cerebral palsy, autism and epilepsy, were devastated when their trikes, which had been a surprise for their 12th birthday, were taken from outside their home on Ash Grove, Grantham, in the early hours of Sunday, June 3.

But after the theft was publicised on social media and in the Grantham Journal, the trikes were found by a farmer, abandoned in a field in Harlaxton.

Steve Mitchell, who lives with wife Vicky and daughters, Evie, 13 and Ella, 11, was putting rubbish out on Tuesday morning, when he discovered the trikes abandoned in his cornfield.

He said: “My daughter Ella mentioned that I had found some trikes to her friend at school, who said that they had seen the story about the stolen trikes in the Journal last week.”

Steve contacted the police and Vicky visited the twins mum Samantha to show her a photo.

After confirming that they were definitely the missing trikes, Steve travelled to Grantham yesterday to reunite them with the family.

Samantha said: “The girls are over the moon. It has been an amazing result.”

The trikes are a ‘lifeline’ for Danielle and Stacey Rae, who were given just a ten per cent survival rate when they were born at 24 weeks. As the girls can’t walk far, the trikes enable them to keep up and have fun with their friends.

After the theft, Samantha posted an appeal for return on social media, which attracted a huge response.

Grantham Disabled Children’s Society (GDCS) organised a fund-raiser to buy some new trikes along with Gravity FM. They had already raised over £500 when the bikes were found this week.

GDCS trustee Alison Telfer said: “The fund-raiser was a phenomenal success. We haven’t seen the bikes yet so don’t know if there will be any costs for repairs, which the money will help pay for, but if not, we are asking those who donated, whether they are happy for the money to go towards GDCS, as the girls and their family are members and will still benefit from it. The money will be used for future outings etc.”

Samantha added: “We can’t believe that we have managed to get them back and still in one piece. I would like to thank everyone who shared my original post when the trikes went missing. A massive thanks to everyone who donated money to show their support. The girls are very happy to have them back.”