Cyclist confronts thieves who stole his bike, gets chased and assaulted but manages to recover bicycle

A cyclist in York was left "shaken" after confronting the thieves who stole his bike from outside a shop — the victim chased, threatened and assaulted by the youths but ultimately leaving in possession of his bike again.

The events unfolded on Sunday afternoon (March 23) when, at around 5.50pm the group of youths stole a bike from outside a shop on Tang Hall Lane. After discovering he had been the victim of the theft, the man in his 20s followed the group to a nearby street where he challenged them and recovered his bike.

However, the group threatened him and chased him to another nearby street, Osbaldwick Lane, where he was assaulted before a member of the public stepped in.

Bike theft protest (credit: Fiona Bateman/Spotted Witney Official/Facebook)

> Man convicted after mother of bike theft victim holds three-day protest outside his house

North Yorkshire Police said the victim is thankfully uninjured but "very shaken up by the incident". 

A spokesperson told the public: "We're appealing for witnesses to any of the incidents and to anyone in the area with CCTV, doorbell footage or  dashcam footage that may may have caught the any of the incidents on camera, to get in touch. Please call North Yorkshire Police on 101 if you can assist our investigation. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website when passing on information. Please quote reference 12250051525 when passing on information."

While the incident highlights the risks that can come with confronting the potentially violent offenders who steal bikes, there has undoubtedly been a loss in confidence in the likelihood of stolen items being recovered through conventional crime-reporting means in the UK, not least with the British Transport Police in January admitting that most bike thefts "unlikely to ever be solved".

> Warning that bike theft has been "decriminalised" as stats show 89% of reported cases unsolved

In November, a former Guardian journalist concluded "if it's cycle theft you probably need to expect to solve your own crimes", that after he tracked down his stolen cargo bike after the "overstretched" police told him "that's up to you" and "we do not attend when it's a block of flats".

In the same week, another London cyclist led police to a serial bike thief in a DIY sting operation – after spotting his stolen bike on Gumtree – but admitted they had to make "it difficult for the police to ignore" to get any help. 

Cyclists help police find stolen bike (credit: Harry Gray)

Despite these 'success stories' on the DIY bike recovery front, the York case does highlight the safety risks that can come with confronting potentially violent criminals over a stolen bike.