'I'm really grateful from the bottom of my heart' - Sarah Gaisford praises the power of social media after her stolen car was found

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Paralysed former jockey Sarah Gaisford could not thank the users of social media enough after her stolen car – containing specialist equipment vital to both her tennis career and everyday independence – was recovered on Tuesday.

Gaisford was paralysed from the chest down following a fall from Festival Flyer in an amateur riders’ handicap hurdle at Exeter in 2007. Since then, she has become one of Britain’s leading wheelchair tennis players, having been ranked as high as ninth in the country.

When her car was stolen in Buckfastleigh, Devon, she appealed for help on social media and Lucy Johnson, who has known Gaisford since her point-to-point days, helped spread the word further.

“I put a post round Buckfastleigh asking if anyone had seen my car," said Gaisford. "Everything needed for my life was gone.

"Lucy came over on Monday and spent the whole day trying to sort things out, including the insurance, which we had loads of complications with, and helped with the police."

Sarah Gaisford: 'I can’t believe how viral my post went'

Locals in the area were urged to check any CCTV footage and keep an eye out for anything suspicious, which paid off. However, initially the recovery process was not as straightforward as Gaisford had hoped.

She explained: "Someone had seen my post and then found my car in Ogwell [about 11 miles away]. They rang the police and then we went to Ogwell and someone had footage, which helped. The car eventually went to the garage. We got there and realised the wheelchair wasn’t there."

Fortunately, Gaisford's missing items were soon recovered.

She said: "A lady was out riding in Denbury [near Ogwell] and saw a wheelchair in a hedge. She took a picture of it, sent it to the police and late last night they called me. She’s managed to find everything; my racket bag was just chucked over the hedge.

"I can’t believe how viral my post went. I want to say a great big thank you for sharing it, and I don’t think without it I would have got my stuff back. It’s made a big difference and I’m really grateful from the bottom of my heart."

She added: "Hopefully, I can resume normal activities in the next few days. The car’s body is okay but two of the tyres were completely shredded, and tennis rackets get affected by being soaked, so we'll see.”

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