Teenagers stole fundraiser’s bike in broad daylight

Charity worker has raised thousands of pounds for ARCHIE

A Ninewells consultant who cycled to the “top of Mount Everest” for a local children’s charity has spoken of the “heart-wrenching” moment thieves stole bikes belonging to him and his son.

Tom Fardon has raised thousands of pounds over the course of the last three years for the ARCHIE Foundation’s children’s appeal with the Carse of Gowrie Velo group.

A keen cyclist, he had recently handed over a cheque worth more than £3,000 to the cause, which rose to national prominence last year with the Oor Wullie Bucket Trail.

As part of his charity work, Tom devised a number of challenges set on a hill in the Perthshire village of Abernyte, which has seen kind-hearted cyclists pedal up it repeatedly until they equalled incredible distances – including to the top of Mount Everest and the International Space Station.

Tom and his son Daniel, 14, had been enjoying a mountain bike adventure on Sunday when they stopped at a friend’s house in Edinburgh.

Their bikes were locked on a rack on the roof of his car, which was parked in a public car park close to the capital’s Western General hospital. A gang of male teenagers climbed on top of the vehicle and wrenched the cycles away. Tom was then approached by his friend’s neighbour, who had captured the incident on CCTV.

He said: “It is quite difficult to understand how someone could do that, in the middle of the day,” he said.

“It was heart-wrenching watching the footage back, seeing these people climb my car and steal my son’s bike.

“We are lucky someone has managed to film it on CCTV and the police now have the footage.”

Tom added that, despite the setback of having the bikes stolen, he was looking forward to organising another charity event for ARCHIE next year, with the help of a number of local supporters including Abernyte Art and Antique Centre.

A spokesperson for the centre said they were proud to be part of the Archie Into Space and Everest challenges, which began from its car park.

The Into Space challenge saw Tom spend 24 hours on Abernyte hill riding 120km and completing 14 ascents.

The latest challenge saw Tom and the fundraising party spend 36 hours cycling Abernyte hill to equal the height of the world’s tallest mountain, Everest.

A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed they are investigating the theft.

Tom Fardon says it was “heartwrenching” watching people climb on to his car to steal the bikes.