'˜Amazing' father saved Christmas

Lola Mitchell bought her three-year-old son a bike for Christmas from an online retailer, but it wasn’t until she went to build it on Christmas Eve that she realised it was incomplete as all the bolts and instructions were missing.

After desperately ringing around local shops, she found a saviour in Danny Brown, from Lewes Cycle Shack.

In a letter to her local paper, Lola said: “There are some good people in the world - as I discovered at Christmas.

“We purchased a bike for my three-year-old son for Christmas from an online retailer, but after taking it out of the box and building it late on Christmas Eve, to our horror, we discovered there were no nuts and bolts or instructions in the box, just the bike frame and wheels, rendering the ‘bike’ useless.

“It was 9:30pm on Christmas Eve, what were we to tell Maxwell in the morning when he awoke to see Santa had not brought him his bike on his sleigh as we had been saying he would?

“I frantically called around all the local bike shops leaving a message asking that if they should have one in stock, could they please hold and I would come and collect as soon as they opened after Christmas.

“Then, at 11:30 on Christmas Eve, I received a text from Danny at Lewes Cycle Shack saying he had picked up my voicemail, and he in fact had the bike I needed in stock and could deliver to me - in Hove, 15 miles away.

“What an amazing human being. We met, at gone midnight on Christmas Day... he saved Christmas - no exaggeration. Forever grateful, and they now have us as a customer for life.”

Danny said: “It was a real coincidence myself and my partner were wrapping presents for my little boy on Christmas Eve when I realised I’d left some presents at work.

“I went into the shop and saw the answerphone was flashing away - I thought, who would be leaving us a message at this time on Christmas Eve?

“I listened to her message and once I heard it, I had to do something to help - I was out and about in the car anyway.

“Having a three-year-old myself, I can just imagine trying to explain to him why Santa didn’t bring his present.

“I sent her a message and we met in an Asda car park. She was so appreciative.

“It was lucky really that I’d forgotten my son’s presents, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone into the shop and seen the message until three days later, when we reopened after Christmas.

“I got back to Ringmer at around half past 12 in the morning, and then carried on wrapping presents for my son. I was just running on good feeling, I didn’t really notice the time.

“She sent a thank you card to the shop after Christmas, with a photo of her son on the bike, which was really nice.

“I would just like to think if I was in the same situation, somebody would help me too.”

Lewes Cycleshack was established in November 2009, in conjunction with Intersport of Lewes, in the former Woolworths at 53 Cliffe High Street. In 2013, it took over the former Future Cycles shop in Friars Walk to make Cycleshack 2 and keep up with demand for bikes and servicing.

Visit www.lewescycleshack.co.uk or call 01273 479688 for information.

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