A SINGLE mum who is recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumour has made a desperate plea to York residents to be on the look out for her stolen bike.

Beverley Cooke, of Clifton Moor, said her driving licence had been revoked due to her ill health and she relied on her bike to get to work.

The 42-year-old said she felt “sick to her stomach” when she discovered it had been stolen from where she had locked it up in a yard near Dead Man’s Alley, in the Clifton Green area.

“It was supposed to be an uncuttable lock,” she said.

“I’m absolutely devastated about it because that bike was my life-line.

“I want people to know that it wasn’t just a luxury item for me, it was my transport. I can’t get about without it.”

Ms Cooke, who has a teenage son and works as a shop assistant, said the silver Giant Trance 3 bike – which was stolen between 2pm and 3pm on Wednesday – would cost her £1,700 to replace.

She said she was so desperate to be reunited with it, she would offer a cash reward to anyone who returned it or offered information that helped locate it.

In 2008, Ms Cooke survived an emergency operation to remove a brain tumour. But the tumour returned the following year and she had to undergo intense radiotherapy.

She said she believed thieves were using Dead Man’s Alley as a getaway route after stealing bikes from the Clifton Green area and she questioned why there was not a CCTV camera in the alleyway to help catch offenders.

She said a silver cyclomatic electric mountain bike belonging to a friend who worked at Boots pharmacy in Clifton Green had also been stolen from this area. She said it was taken from a yard behind Boots between 5.10pm and 5.25pm on June 25.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “We treat bike thefts as seriously as we treat every other offence and we would encourage anybody with information to come forward and report it.”

Anybody with information is asked to phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 247.