‘It meant everything’
APPEAL TO FIND MOTORBIKE LEFT IN SOLDIER’S BEQUEST TO BEST FRIEND
THE close friends of a 30-year-old soldier who died in Afghanistan are appealing for help in finding his “treasured” motorbike which was stolen from Hayes .
Thomas Lake, who died in 2011 after stepping on a hand grenade while on patrol, left his beloved Yamaha motorbike to his best friend Simon in his will.
The Hayes residents, who treated Mr Lake as family, treasured the bike following his passing and kept it as their “little piece of Tom” to remember him by.
The red and white bike was stolen from outside their Reid Close property sometime between 11.45pm on September 16 and 7.30am on September 17.
Simon’s niece, who called Mr Lake “uncle” and saw him as a family member, said that their family was “heartbroken” after the motorbike had been taken.
The west London resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “This bike meant everything to my uncle, he honestly treasured it so much.
“He’s in pieces after realising it was gone, he treasured it since Tom died and for it to not be there one day was horrendous.
“It was our little piece of him we still had to hang onto after he died, it was our family’s way of remembering him by.
“It would mean so much to get it back, losing someone is bad enough but then to lose something they left for you in their will is devastating.
“To have it back again would be like gaining a bit of him again.”
The registration of the red and white 10-year-old Yamaha is T727 TPU.
A spokesman from Metropolitan Police said they had been called on the morning of September 17.
They confirmed the bike had been stolen from outside the house in Reid Close and said enquiries are ongoing into the theft.
Anyone with information on the stolen bike should call police on 101.