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Bike stolen from London doctor treating coronavirus patients - and replacement quickly found thanks to Twitter

Laura Pujol said she would need to walk to hospital following theft - until new one was donated

A London doctor treating coronavirus patients in intensive care said she would need to walk to work after her bicycle was stolen from a secure car park at the building where she lives – although thanks to Twitter, she has already secured a new bike, thanks to Evans Cycles it seems.

Laura Pujol, who lives in Battersea, had been using her bike to travel to the West London hospital she works at.

The 31-year-old, originally from Spain, told the London Evening Standard that she discovered the bike was missing earlier today when she returned home.

She explained that the theft also meant that she would be unable to take her infant daughter to nursery.

She said: “I’ll need to set off 30 minutes earlier to get there on time, which means I won’t be able to take my baby to nursery.

“That means my partner – who is also a doctor at a south London hospital – and I will have to pay a nanny to take her.”

She said that she was aware of colleagues who had also had their bicycles stolen in recent weeks, adding: “One of the things that concerns me is it means people aren’t self-isolating and staying at home if they’re out stealing bikes.”

Dr Pujol said she was reporting the theft to the police and that the building manager was reviewing CCTV footage to try and identify the person who took the bike.

Today on Twitter she received a number of offers to replace her bike, including one from Brompton Bicycle, but declined their offer, saying she had already found a new bike.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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quiff | 4 years ago
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Mike Ashley / Evans trying to reclaim some PR points after recent days? 

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mdavidford | 4 years ago
1 like
Quote:

“One of the things that concerns me is it means people aren’t self-isolating and staying at home if they’re out stealing bikes.”

 Um... but unless they (or someone they live with is) symptomatic, they wouldn't need to self-isolate. And I don't see why social distancing and bike thievery would be incompatible - in fact it probably helps. Not sure whether it counts as 'shopping for essentials' or 'exercise' though. Or maybe they think of it as 'work' (which, of course, they wouldn't be able to do from home).

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to mdavidford | 4 years ago
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Additionally, I don't think anyone who decides to steal from anyone is going to be bothered about spreading a disease they may or may not currently have to other people. Sociopathic for a reason. 

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