Generous Twickenham residents have pulled together to replace an NHS doctor’s stolen bike.

Dr Paul Chapman, a frontline worker at West Middlesex Hospital, was “gutted” after the bicycle he used for commuting was taken at the beginning of January.

Appealing for information on Facebook, he asked locals if they had seen the bike, which was a Christmas present from his mum.

Little did Dr Chapman know his post would be picked up by a sympathetic stranger, who took matters into her own hands.

Tiffany Robinson, from Twickenham Green, said when she saw the story she was upset on the doctor’s behalf.

“Lots of bicycles are being stolen at the moment but was particularly shocking considering he’s a doctor and the NHS is under so much stress.

“It just seemed so wrong, he’s barely had a day off since the pandemic started,” said Tiffany.

She decided to launch a Crowdfunder, hoping to raise enough money for a new bike, lock and lights.

The first pledge was £100 – and afterwards her inbox “pinged constantly” with emails about donations.

“It went a bit mad,” said the teacher.

In under 24 hours Tiffany closed the Crowdfunder, which had hit almost £1,000.

Tiffany has realised Dr Chapman and his girlfriend are her neighbours – describing the couple as “genuine” and “lovely.”

In an online statement, the doctor thanked the “incredibly touching” work of the Twickenham community.

He said: “I had resigned myself to a takeaway KFC to cheer myself up.

“To see so many people and businesses in the local community reaching out to help has made my year. I simply cannot thank everyone enough.”

Dr Chapman added that with the leftover money he will be buying a surprise present for the staff on his Covid ward.