A young Ukrainian refugee girl who got a new bike for her 6th birthday had it stolen a week later.

Margarita, a six-year-old Ukrainian refugee who came to the UK with her mum and sister at the end of May, had her bike stolen from outside a charity shop in Dean’s Court, Bicester.  

She went into Help the Aged, a charity shop, with her family, and having left the bike outside the shop for just five minutes, it had been taken by time they came out.

Christopher Sargeant, a pensioner who lives in Bicester, has known the Ukrainian family for 10 years, and was asked by Margarita’s mother if he would be her Godfather.

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He said: “I’m disgusted by the whole thing.

“The bike was only there a few minutes, I presume it was being watched.

“My goddaughter was heartbroken after being given a dream birthday present only to have somebody steal it from her.

“The family don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but it would be nice if someone could return it.

“Thankfully, a lady on Facebook offered to give us her daughter’s old bike, and it was just right for Margarita.”

Bicycle theft is one of the most common crimes in some areas of Oxfordshire, but by far overall the worst area is Oxford.

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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