TWO people have been charged in connection with the theft of a bike belonging to a little girl who lost her hands to meningitis.

Children’s cycles belong to Tilly Lockey and her sisters were stolen during a burglary last month at the family’s garage in Blackhill, Consett.

Police have now charged a woman aged 36 and a 33-year-old man with handling stolen goods.

They are currently on bail due to appear at Consett Magistrates’ Court on November 11.

Bikes belonging to her sisters, Tia, ten, and Lucy-Anna, six, were also stolen during the break-in, but they were all found a few days later.

While they were missing, officers asked traders if another bike could be provided for Tilly in case the original could not be traced.

The Clearance Bargains store in Stanley donated a ‘Huffy’ pedal cycle, which will soon be needed as Tilly will soon be too big for her original adapted model.

The youngster needs costly prosthetic hands to cope with everyday tasks after being afflicted with the deadly Meningococcal Septicaemia bug when she was just 15 months old.

Two men aged 26 and 29 were arrested on suspicion of burglary but released with no further action.