A Bristol woman who was assaulted by a man when she attempted to take her stolen bike from him has been reunited with it, after the owner of a scooter shop bought it suspecting it was one that had been flagged on media as stolen – then got in touch with her to reunite her with it.
> Cyclist spots thief with her stolen bike ... outside police station — then assaulted during confrontation
Two other bikes belonging to her were also taken during that burglary, and subsequently a fourth break-in in a matter of days at the supposedly secure bike storage facility in the building on Bristol’s Harbourside where she lives resulted in another of her bikes being stolen.
One of the three bikes belonging to her that was taken in the original break-in last Wednesday was a Bianchi Via Nirone 7, which she spotted being held by a man outside a police station that is currently closed for refurbishment.
But when she confronted him and tried to take it back, he clung on to the bike, pushed its owner and made off.
Posting to a local cycling page on Facebook, she said she has now got that bike back after it was sold for £120 to the owner of a scooter shop who, believing it was one of the bikes that had been stolen, got in touch with her.
The shop owner, who refused to accept a reward from the cyclist, has also passed CCTV footage showing the suspected thief and accomplices to police.
However, the victim’s attempts to have officers track him down, including by pointing out repeated sightings in the city centre of his associates, and at times with other bikes she believes to have been stolen, have so far proved fruitless.
So too have efforts to have the building’s owners address the security issues there despite four break-ins now in the space of a week in which besides her own four bikes being stolen, other residents too have had their bicycles taken.
The latest burglary of the bike storage unit happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning, according to her post to the Facebook group – with the bike stolen on this occasion being a Liv BeLiv gravel bike with a retro-style step-through frame.
Besides the Bianchi, the other two bikes stolen last week – the day after thieves had first broken into the unit and taken items that were not secured in including lights, pumps and wheels – were a Whyte Victoria 2012 and a Boardman Comp Fi 2014.
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11 comments
You need to upgrade your storage plans to a new and reliable solution. I get that you need easy access to your bikes. The flat storage option is always cumbersome. Will a friend let you store it nearby?
".....supposedly secure bike storage facility....."
If the property was bought or rented and the above was included in the description, isn't that part of a contract and legally enforceable? I'd be getting some legal advice with the aim of getting compensation from the owner or estate agent.
I dont want to victim blame but Im not sure I'd use that bike storage for any of my preciouses if its been broken into twice before.
(I get she may be in a rented flat with no choice - but I'd risk the landlords ire myself.)
I'd be taking that inside my flat. I'm glad she got it back and praise for the owner of the scooter shop.
I hope the cops can trace the oxygen thieves.
Bike storage is an issue in many places for flats / rented property. Again, in more enlightened places provision for bikes / accessibility aids is starting to come in e.g. as an expectation in new developments. Quality of provision can still be an issue though.
Sometimes you can get round things. I rented a flat through a letting agent once and their contract said "no bikes". I asked about that and they said it was because of potential damage. I told them I was far more worried about the damage or loss of my wheeled money by leaving that outside. They said "you'll be liable for any damage" (which I was anyway...) so I just manually wrote this into their (standard) contract, got verbal agreement, returned my bit and that was that.
There was a "story" in The Sun recently where some bloke was in court accused of assault, after losing it and attacking the chair of their residents committee who had complained about him (the offender) scuffing his bike tyres on the walls of their stairs and communal landing...
I may not agree with the current governments social principles, economic policies or transport strategy but at least I can rely on their approach to law and order to keep me and my property safe. Oh wait a minute....
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Grow.
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Up.
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A bit.
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Indeed. Liz has said that she's going to fix all the country's problems, including the NHS and policing, AND cut taxes. She'll be getting my vote!
Thanks Joe Lycett