A LEUKAEMIA sufferer in remission is dismayed that his valuable bicycle has been stolen – just weeks after he started his first job.
Not only had Daniel Dark, 22, overcome the illness but he also successfully underwent treatment for a rare heart condition.
But his two-wheeled lifeline to get him to and from work and provide him with exercise was stolen from his workplace.
Daniel was upset when he finished his shift at Young's Seafood, in Marsden Road, Grimsby docks at 9pm on Wednesday, April 24 to discover the lock snapped in two.
Bolt croppers had been used to free the cycle from its lock – the case from the croppers left at the scene.
Daniel had started work at the food processing factory four weeks earlier and had yet to be issued with a security pass so he could lock his bike in the main compound.
His black Claud Butler bike, with the label Urban Legend, is worth £200. It has distinctive green tape strapped around the right-hand handlebar and slim tyres.
Daniel, who lives in Escart Avenue, Grimsby, was first diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 9 when he was a pupil at Old Clee Junior School.
After three years of treatment, he went into remission but developed a rare heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which causes irregular electrical pulses in the heart.
He has successfully undergone treatment at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, and was delighted to get his first job at the end of March.
His wages have helped pay for the travelling costs to and from hospital for check ups.
Since the theft, Daniel's dad Colin has loaned him his bike so he can still get to and from work and for exercise.
"I enjoy taking bike rides out to Tetney. It keeps me fit," said Daniel, a former Matthew Humberstone School pupil.
"Without my bike it means a 40-minute walk, which I don't like doing at night.
"I was gobsmacked when it happened. I thought at first I'd left it somewhere else, but then realised it had been stolen."
Can you help?
Daniel has appealed to anyone who knows information about his stolen bike or is offered it for sale to contact Humberside Police on 101, quoting reference number 1970331.
www.humbersidepolice.co.ukTHE EDITOR'S COMMENTSOME people are dealt a rough card in life. Take 22-year-old Daniel Dark who, having already battled leukaemia and a subsequent rare heart condition, managed to find himself a job, difficult in this climate. So to then find his transport to work, his bicycle, had been stolen by thieves must have made this young man wonder what else he will come across in life! In fact, Daniel has been using his wages to help pay for the travelling costs to and from hospital for check-ups, another cause of controversy. After all, how long have campaigners been fighting for free Humber Bridge tolls? We wait, on that issue, for the third and final reading of the Humber Bridge Bill in parliament. As yet, no date has been set for the third reading, but the bill will allow the bridge's board to amend tolls. This means hospital patients who need to cross the bridge for medical treatment could be exempted from paying. It's a small step that the likes of Daniel deserve. And it's been a long time coming!