We had been away for the weekend - and came back fairly late - about 10:30 we were walking through the church carpark at the top of our road. Four kids about 16-17, all with pushbikes, were hanging around by the church, looking at something. When one of them saw us, he whistled to his mates and they moved away.
As we passed, there was a DT 125 parked by the church, with L plates on it. We felt suspicious of the kids, so as soon as we got in (only 2 or 3 minutes down the road), we rang the police to report them. Handed over details, and was asked "Are they still there now?" I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see the church from my house, so I went to look.
And they'd stolen the bike, were pushing it down the road and had stopped just down from me, trying to kick-start it. Straight back in and onto the police again. My wife stayed inside to answer the phone if the police rang back, so I walked back to the church to see if I could find the owner. As I got to the church and was knocking, the squad car came round. So I flagged them over and gave them all the details I could (make and colour of bike, how many kids, what they were wearing etc). They thanked me and drove off, so I walked back home.
A few minutes later, the phone rang. The police had found the bike, but not the kids (guessing they were scared off by a squad car). They'd phoned the owner, who had come down to pick up the bike. The police passed on the thanks of the owner, adding their thanks, saying I'd done exactly the right thing, and the depth of information I'd provided was just what they need.
My wife pointed out that we had a spare disc lock, so I went to head up the road to see if I could spot the owner. As luck would have it, he was pushing the bike and was just a bit past the house, so I caught up with him and gave him the disc lock.
So feeling really pleased that we were able to stop a theft - and hopefully that disc lock will stop any further attempts.
And that is the key to this - if there had been physical security on the bike, then those kids would have left it alone.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by rachprice
Opinions are like arseholes: Everybody has got one, but that doesn't mean you got to air it in public all the time....
Bookmarks