BIKE-MAD paperboy Carl Holliday had the "best birthday ever" after he was given a mountain bike to replace one which was stolen.

Evening Press delivery boy Carl celebrated his 14th birthday in style, after John Campbell, of York bike shop Wilco Motosave, in Malton Road, gave him the £250 mountain bike.

On Tuesday the Evening Press reported how Carl had been left "devastated and heartbroken" after his Hard Rock Pro 01 bike was stolen from outside Tesco Extra, in Acomb Park, York.

In the moments it took for him to go into the shop to buy a Mars bar, a man wearing a cap and hooded top snatched the £500 bike and rode off.

Carl and his mum, Carole, of Bellhouse Way, Foxwood, reported the theft to the police and scoured the area looking for the bike, but to no avail.

The bike was bought in November 2001 as an early Christmas present and Carl, who goes to Oaklands School, had barely been parted from it since.

Carl was left having to do his paper round on foot, and had been off school because the upset had made him ill.

Carole said: "This is just fantastic. John said he could understand what Carl had been going through when he read the story in the paper.

"We are just so grateful for this. It really picked Carl up and made for a fantastic birthday."

The police arrived at the store within 20 minutes of the theft and have been given the store's CCTV footage which clearly shows a hooded figure riding away on Carl's bike.

Mr Campbell said: "I have had a lot of my own bikes stolen over the years, so I know exactly what it's like and it's not a nice feeling.

"In most of these cases there's no chance of the police getting the bike back, so I thought it might be a good idea to help Carl out."

Carl's new bike is a Targa DD24 - and the shop has thrown in a free bike lock to help him keep it safe in the future.

Updated: 10:33 Saturday, June 18, 2005