The military community rallied to present a pensioner with his service medals at a VE day celebration in Biggin Hill after he tragically lost them.

Roger Pierce, 73, earned his medals as a senior aircraft technician serving with the RAF Squadron 70.

The veteran, from Dartford, was posted to Borneo and Cyprus during his service, and worked on a V Bomber carrying atom bombs in 1958.

MORE TOP STORIES Married to wife of 47 years Lesley, the father of two and grandfather of four was riding his Honda motorbike on a Ride of Respect (RoR) in 2013.

The former standard bearer, who attended the repatriation of soldiers at Wooton Bassett and the Lee Rigby memorial ride, lost four of his five medals when his bag flew open on the motorway.

Heartbroken, he tried in vain to find them but resorted to saving the hundreds of pounds needed to replace them, yet never managed to raise enough.

His daughter Louise McCaw, 45, said: "They were his pride and joy; he didn’t feel right without them. He was so proud and wore them at every service.

"He was gutted when he lost them.

"When I heard what they were doing I burst into tears. It was so emotional, it means everything to him."

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Mr Pierce had his original medals stolen in a burglary in 1984, where thieves also took a framed letter from US President Ronald Regan.

On Saturday (May 2) the RoR bikers who he rides with saved up to buy his lost medals, which were presented at the Spitfire Cafe in Biggin Hill.

A serving RAF flight lieutenant called him up and awarded him with the lost PJM Malaysian service medal, the General Service Medal, the Cold War Medal and the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus medal.

Mr Pierce said: “I thought it was a wind up, I was looking around for Jeremy Beadle.

“It’s a weight off my shoulders, I’ve been trying for two years to get them back, I never thought I would.

“It’s tremendous, so heart warming what they did.

“It was absolutely gutting to lose them for a second time.”

Julia Stevenson, who served with the Women’s Royal Army Corp and rides with Mr Pierce in the RoR, said: "The word was devastated; he attended all the events that he could wearing his medals.

"He kept going along, but he said he felt naked without them.

"We’re family us bikers, we wanted to get them back to him and put a smile back on his face."

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On parade before he lost his medals

Bromley Mayor Cllr Julian Benington attended the festivities along with two WWII veterans and more than 100 visitors.

Owner of the cafe Sally O’Connor described the day as “brilliant”.

Raising money for the Armed Forces Bikers and RAF Benevolent Fund, £190 had been raised from the raffle along with the rest of the money still being counted.