A TEENAGER who had his bike stolen while fundraising in memory of his dad who died in Afghanistan has had his wheels returned thanks to the help of an eagle-eyed pal.

Ashton Sexton, a 13-year-old pupil at Paxman Academy, has been fundraising for the Scotty’s Little Soldiers charity which supports bereaved military children.

The teenager was on course to hit his target of cycling 300 miles for the month of July, only for his mountain bike to be stolen while he went into a convenience store in Military Road on Sunday.

Despite running after the thief, Ashton was left devastated after they got away.

Days later a friend spotted a man riding Ashton’s bike through Colchester and chased after him to try and get the bike back.

The person got off the bike, threw it to one side, and ran away.

Although Ashton is reunited with his bike, it still needs repairing, but the teenager is still determined to reach his £500 target before the end of the month so he can give back to the charity which has supported him so much since his father was killed.

His dad died in 2010 while working for a private security firm in Afghanistan.

Ashton’s mum, Trudy Farquhar, explained how it wasn’t the first time her son had taken on a challenge for charity.

She said: “He’s friends with Jack Rigby, and he did a cycle ride in memory of Jack’s dad, Lee, a while ago.

“He does a lot of biking with the cadets and decided he would do a fundraiser in memory of his dad.

“His dad, Shaun Sexton, was killed in Afghanistan when Ashton was five months old, so Scotty’s Little Soldiers is an important charity for him.”

Whilst his own bike gets fixed, Ashton will ride an old bike so he can reach his 300-mile target.

“He was distraught [when the bike was stolen], bless him – when it was found again, he was over the moon.

“I always want him to feel like it’s OK to talk about his dad openly, and the charity really helps him do that.”

Donations to Ashton’s bike ride can be made via tinyurl.com/bdz2yx2v.