Bikejackers kick "poor kid" and steal his cycle from BMX track, leaving other children traumatised

Children riding their bikes at a BMX track in Yeadon, Leeds, were left traumatised after a bikejacking attack in which two teenagers pushed and kicked a young cyclist off his bike, before stealing it and running away.

The incident took place on Tuesday at 3pm at the Yeadon Tarn BMX course, just off Cemetery Road, with West Yorkshire Police investigating the robbery.

A post made on a private community group on Facebook claimed that two youths, allegedly aged between 16 and 17 took the "poor kid's bike" and "left the rest of the kids traumatised".

One commenter, who wished to remain anonymous, told Telegraph and Argus that his son was with his friends when one of them was "kicked off his bike and the bike stolen" by the suspects, who appeared out of the bushes and were already hurling abuse at them before the attack.

The perpetrators then stole the bike and ran through the track gate that leads to the car park, according to the man. The matter was reported to police and he said: "They headed down past the tarn past the sailing club towards Yeadon town."

He told the local newspaper that he was "very angry", adding: "This location needs looking at. It’s a BMX track — great for the kids but it’s hidden by trees, surrounded by a fence and two open gates. The kids couldn’t get out without passing these scumbags."

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West Yorkshire Police said: "Police are investigating reports of a robbery on Cemetery Road Yeadon on 6 August at around 3pm.  

"A male approached a youth and pushed him off his bike before stealing the bike. 

"Enquiries remain ongoing by Leeds CID. Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or use the Live Chat facility at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat quoting crime reference 13240426914.

"Officers from the local neighbourhood policing team have been made aware and are working to reassure the community."

In June, there was another bikejacking attempt at the Yeadon Tarn BMX Course, when two "lads wearing balaclavas and riding quads and mopeds" came out of the bushes and chased after the kids, even producing what looked like a weapon at one point.

One of the kids told Telegraph and Argus that he was with five of his friends when the men started chasing them, adding that he rode to the nearest family and shouted for help.

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In May last year, an 11-year-old boy was left terrified after a masked man threatened him with a machete and robbed his bicycle in broad daylight, while he was playing in a park in Grimsby.

The victim’s grandmother said that the incident left her grandson — who has autism and ADHD — so scarred that he thinks if he leaves the house, the unknown man will be there and will find out where he lives.

And then in August, a 13-year-old boy was threatened with a machete, and told to hand over his mountain bike or “I will stab”, in a shocking bike theft in Merseyside.

The older boys, described as 16-year-old white males wearing tracksuits believed to be from the Monitrex brand and riding green and white electric bike themselves, then threatened the boys with a machete before stealing the 13-year-old’s mountain bike, a Specialized Status 140.

“They said ‘hello’ and a couple of minutes later they came back with one on foot,” the boys’ father, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Liverpool Echo(link is external). “They had stashed the other bike which police later found. Then they went up to [the 13-year-old].”