A Totnes woman planning a round-the-world tour on her high-tech bike is appealing for help after it was stolen on a train.

Becky Sherwood told the BBC her bike was almost like her home after her partner helped to fit it with specialist equipment for her fundraising trip, which would have taken her across Europe and on to the African continent.

Ms Sherwood, who quit her teaching job to do the trip, told the BBC: "It's like our life. It's my home, everything I've got is on my panniers. The bike just means so much to me, it's the freedom and independence.

"I've had such good adventures on it, I don't think I've loved an object as much as that bike."

The bike, an orange Carrera, was reportedly stolen from the train at Banbury station in Oxfordshire on Tuesday (July 23) just before 6pm. It was then spotted at Leamington Spa later the same evening.

Ms Sherwood was planning to raise more than £3,000 for two charities, and although it is not clear yet whether she will continue or cancel the tour, hundreds of people have since left messages of support for her after she revealed the unwelcome news on social media.

Some people offered to search for Ms Sherwood’s bike, while one person – named as Chris Chris from Kings Sutton - reached out to her and offered her another bike to continue her tour.