Generous staff at Wheels Cycles and Bacardi have stepped in to help a brain-injury victim who had his pedal cycle stolen by callous thieves at the weekend.

Jason Fostine De-Silva, who needs to cycle as part of his rehabilitation from a bike smash that nearly killed him, had spoken of his shock and anger at the theft in yesterday?s .

Cycling, explained the 36-year-old, is the best thing to help him cope with the condition Ataxia which gives him jerky and uncoordinated body movements and means he can only walk slowly.

However, his 21-speed mountain bike went missing from outside the front door of his home in the early hours of Friday morning, leaving him shocked and angry. Five of our kind-hearted readers were so touched by Mr. Fostine De-Silva?s plight that they got in touch yesterday to offer him a replacement bike ? with the quickest off the mark being Wheels Cycles of Dundonald Street, Hamilton.

Yesterday afternoon, he was able to pick up a brand new $579 24-speed bike jointly paid for by Wheels and Bacardi.

Steven Panchaud, manager of the store, said: ?He relies on his bike to get around. We already did all the repairs on his previous bike for him. He?s had it quite some time and it was in a bad shape as he has difficulty riding and there was minor damage from the accidents he has had. We are happy to help him out with a new one.?

Gaston Tano, managing director of Bacardi Bermuda added: ?We are a company that is always looking to help people. After reading Jason?s story of how he?s trying to improve his mobility and how important his bike was to him we wanted to help. He is a very deserving person and a pretty amazing individual.?

A delighted Mr. Fostine De-Silva said: ?I?m really glad to be able to get back in the saddle so quickly. Sitting around the house without being able to cycle meant my muscles were getting really stiff.

?This gift of a new bike means a tremendous amount to me. When I first came out of the rehabilitation centre after the crash in 1986 it took me several months just to get up the courage to cross the road. It took me 16 years before I was able to ride again and people have been so nice giving me another bike so that I can carry on.?