Just a heads up really, I took a last minute decision to go and ride at Swinley tonight. I pulled into the car park and parked up. Got changed and then got the bike out and lent it against the back of the van. I noticed whilst i was getting changed that an red Ford Fiesta pulled into the car park and drove up to the visitor centre which i couldn't quite see from where i was, then within a couple of minutes left the car park. I thought the car looked dodgy but I didn't really think anything off it too much. I then knelt into the back of the van to get my shock pump and i suddenly realised that a guy in a black beanie was getting on my bike. I shouted and instantly took chase. Luckily it was in a lowish gear so it took him a while to get going and I managed to grab his arm as he shifted under massive load making the gears jump! I pulled him down on to the ground. The downside was i also ended up on the floor and he managed to get up quicker being on the opposite side of the bike and leg if off down the car park! I probably then should have given chase to get the scum bag but just decided that I was very lucky to still have my bike!
I then decided that I may be would still go for a ride but I would move the van into the Water World car park, I drove into the car park and couldn't believe my luck but the Fiesta was in there with the guy who tried nicking the bike being in the back seat still wearing his beanie along with another 4 people. So i got the registration number and called the Police, who didn't seem that bothered even though I mentioned they was CCTV in The Lock Out car park that would have captured all this!
I got the impression that they have tried to do this before (may be even been successful) so don't leave your bikes unattended in the car park at night. I was half a metre at the very most when he grabbed it! If you are on your own take extra care as it makes you a very easy target because there is no one to give chase on another bike.
The car registration number was T608 PRJ - Colour Dark Red.
If you also know anyone this happened to please let them know about this post!
good work fellah
boils my piss that the local council are only too happy to charge for the car park but thefts just seem to be increasing
do u mind if I post this on the swinley FB page
The police didn't seem bothered? FFS! No wonder people think this country has gone to the dogs
No problem at all the more it is shared the better!!
The police lady on the phone said because they didn't actually steal anything they would make the local police force aware of the incident but that was all they could do..
YES
T608PRJIS showing as insured on the Motor Insurance Database today.
The details on the MID are:Vehicle Make/Model: FORD FIESTA FINESSE
Pretty easy to trace that if you could be bothered.
The police lady on the phone said because they didn't actually steal anything they would make the local police force aware of the incident but that was all they could do..
Get your arse in and make a formal complaint!
That's absolute bollocks. Ring 101 straight away and insist on speaking with a supervisor. By getting on your bike the guy in the beanie has already stolen it. You have recovered it and your actions have prevented more thefts. Despite what the stupid ignorant call-taker says, the local cops WILL be very interested, and are under a legal obligation to come and take a crime report. Getting the number and the possibility of CCTV evidence will mean they stand a very good chance of a decent arrest.
Boils my piss doesn't even scratch the surface
Lucky escape mate, skin of your teeth 😆
Do keep this thread updated with how the fuzz choose to proceed.
If I were in your shoes I'd probably be cuddling my bike all night after that.
Good work that man.
Shit work that [i]Police[/i] farce.
Ckin nobbers.
Attempted theft is a crime.
Police phone lady is a silly lady.
Report it properly asap. You have the reg ffs.
At the very least track down the car owners address and slash his tyres, also leave a note on the window re stealing bikes 😉
Yeah I reckon I was lucky if was a £4500 Orange Five RS as well.. Can't believe i actually caught him! Will try them again tomorrow and see what they say. I wonder if the guy on the bike went down as hard as I did... My knees, elbows and hands are pretty battered from sliding down the road!
No, please ring them now. The shitheads are still out stealing stuff, and if they're in the same car, evidence that will help corroborate your story like the beanie hat will still be there. If you wait 'til tomorrow the driver will be able to come up with defences like he couldn't remember who was in his car, or his mate hijacked it for ten minutes for a laff etc etc etc. If you want then catching I'm sorry but you'll have to act now.
What goes around comes around, if I were him I'd be watching that beanie hat closely.
Cycling past at speed you'd be able to get a good couple of hard kicks in as you pass, then swing around for another run.
Pleased it ended well for you.
Please update the thread if / when the police do do anything.
Alternatively, go up tomorrow with a nice bike to lean against the back of your car and just happen to be holding a spare pair of Bombers whilst you keep a look out...
Im no lawyer but I watch a lot of TV and I think this qualifies as a robbery, which is forcibly stealing from a person, ie you. Its a far more serious crime than theft because of the element of threat and potential for violence against the victims and is why crims who break into homes to nick stuff get their knuckles wrapped harder if the family is home when they do it.
TheBrownDog - sadly not robbery, but definitely theft.
Knowing how attitudes are to bikers these days, the OP will probably get done for assault on the thief!
Deffo get back on the case and report it, in person to a police station.
Hi Adam, I have requested copies of any CCTV we might have available from Crown Estate (who will hopefully contact BFBC if needed). Can you email me your contact information?
My email is ben<at>birdmtb.co.uk
Thanks
Ben Pinnick
TrailTeam Swinley
I would have given him a few digs
well played mate and thanks for the warning. will keep an eye out for those scrotes.
Not sure if leaving the reg plastered all over the internetz is a good idea tho? Once the toe rags get wind that the game is up, they might swap to another car, or just shift to another location. Might be good for the police to try and catch them at it?
Hopefully the police will take an interest and follow up with the owner of the car.
Your van doesn't look like this does it? 😀
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Good work OP. Disappointing if plod don't follow this up and agree a bit about not posting details up just in case it does get looked into.
Failing that a few posters/flyers around the car park with car details and reg number might help, along with a good supply of pitchforks.
Are we crediting these shitheads with the ability to trawl the net to see if plod has "made" their car? Even if they do, the inconvenience they now have to go to to swap their car will be worth some disruption to their activities.
Good call on the CCTV Benpinnick. If you or someone has the time to trawl recent footage to see how often the Fiesta visits the car park at night it might help corroborate adam@orange's incident.
Bracknell times is interested in the story apparently so hopefully we will see some positive action
The call taker was most likely a civilian and please don't judge all police on one bad experience reporting a crime, it's possible they didn't fully understand the circumstances (no defence to their lack of action but maybe a learning point if it can be brought to their attention).
This most certainly is a theft and should be recorded and investigated, sounds like you would be able to provide a pretty decent description to help IDing the guy. You actually had your bike stolen and the only reason you have it is because you chased it down and got it back for yourself. If they're this bold then they are most certainly stealing other bikes elsewhere in similar circumstances, report it again as soon as (strike whilst the irons hot etc) and if you get fobbed off demand to make a complaint, then you'll certainly get details taken.
I would also suggest taking photos of the injuries you got whilst taking your bike back, it fleshes out the picture and the lengths you had to go to to return your property.
Hope this helps Mrs 2hottie.
Good work mate and definitely follow it up. Mrs. 2Hottie's advice is also sound, if my experience with the force is anything to go by.
[i]Bracknell times is interested in the story[/i]
but still not the police?
I do hope their refusal to attend is reported and they are asked for an explanation that goes into print.
OP will probably get done for assault for knocking the little toerag off the bike...
I really can't understand the response of the call-taker, You stopped a theft in progress, got information which could potentially lead to an arrest and recovery of other stolen bikes.
Nope, but if there are details plastered all over the internet it might affect any investigation and/or prosecution if plod does take things further. I'm no expert so maybe that's not the case, just thinking about the recent stolen bike on eBay thread - I seem to recall a certain member of the Manchester constabulary advised against publishing details.Are we crediting these shitheads with the ability to trawl the net to see if plod has "made" their car?
By the way OP - don't park in the Coral Reef car park as it's less secure than the Lookout!
Get the story in the local news as well.
Im no lawyer but I watch a lot of TV
This is what I love about STW............ 😀 😀
Looking forward to hearing more on this case - good luck mate
The offence of theft is complete at the very least attempt theft and the driver I would argue is also guilty of the same offence
Can you not go to the local station to make the report as they may be aware of a local crime trend and actually be very interested?
My recent experience of dealing the police having had bikes stolen is as follows: Checked an hours worth of cctv at completely the wrong times that I told them the theft occurred. They said they can't spend all their time looking at cctv. Next theft they never even got back to me. I no longer have the will to even bother trying anymore. Good luck with this one though.
This is shocking really.its like a crime centre that car park. Pretty quick to dish out parking tickets though.
Most CCTV nowadays can easily fast-
forwarded to whatever time you like an
you can speed it up by 65x or more, not only that,
you can even burn onto disc the footage,
what more can they ask for? Their job is literally
then done for them!
what would you have done it you'd actually caught him?
what would the police have done if you'd called them whilst he was apprehended? would they have said "you should let him go, he's not committed an offense and if you keep hold of him you'll be guilty of holding someone against their will"
Offence of theft has been commited no question. . He needs identifying and arresting ASAP.
I was lucky if was a £4500 Orange Five RS as well.. Can't believe i actually caught him!
Perhaps that is indeed why you caught him. The Orange 5, slow enough to catch thieves on 😉
In all seriousness though, good work. Hopefully the old bill will come good and this scrote and his mates will be rounded up
Glad you got your bike back and only a few cuts n bruises you never know what scum like this might be carrying though as they are prepared whereas you are not. The best way to deal with trash like that would be to punish their own families assuming they haven't already been disowned. It's better that you as you have, try to make people aware to, maybe there should be a prominent notice about this incident at each carpark entrance in breif with the reg plate that'll keep the t**ts away. I realise we all get careless but reminders tend to help now and again.
Suggest that OP emails Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and copy it to :- Thames Valley Police Commissioner, Chief Inspector Bracknell Police Station, Prime Minister, local MP and the Home Secretary.
Unfortunately Swinley is almost ideal for tea leaves, the venue is often stuffed with high value bikes, many left unattended, while the owner goes to get a day ticket or a Mars bar, or in this case simply turns his back just to get changed...
The site has quick and easy access for motor vehicles and is local to major transport routes, so if a bike can be gotten round the corner and bundled into a vehicle it'll be away pretty quick sharpish... that £4.5K would be worth a fair old whack broken down and ebayed...
I'd not be shocked if that fiesta wasn't the only motor vehicle potentially involved, did you notice any vans knocking about? I only say that because a degree of planning seemed to be at work and once knicked your bike would need to be gotten out of view, if te scrote had pedaled it down the road he ran far more risk of capture, and I doubt bundling it into a a T reg fiesta is a quick and easy task when being chased by the owner...
If that Fiesta has not been reported stolen then I'd expect the rozzers to be looking into its registered keeper, their family members and know associates as a bare minimum.
It sounds like there was a bit of organisation and a couple of people at work. Even if they couldn't secure a conviction, the incident, given the Vehicle reg and CCTV footage especially, should provide a bit of useful intel' for plod...
Do let us know if you get any further with this OP, the last thing any cycling venue needs is to be targeted by criminals.
Most CCTV nowadays can easily fast-
forwarded....
most cctv is either too complex for the people who work on site, who aren't trained to use it, or in fact the footage is stored centrally and has to be requested from their HQ.
Suggest that OP emails Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and copy it to :- Thames Valley Police Commissioner, Chief Inspector Bracknell Police Station, Prime Minister, local MP and the Home Secretary
that will achieve 10% of f--- all. Do people really think writing to top bosses has any effect other than to delay their complaint being dealt with, as it will pass through half a dozen in-trays before it gets to who will deal with it. I speak from experience as the person handling the complaint (2 weeks after it was made, which really gets us off to a good start...).
Reports of complaints are taken by sergeants, locally resolved complaints (ie. less serious) are handled by inspectors (or delegated back to their sergeants).
http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh-tvp-pol-area-N305
is the relevant neighbourhood for the Look Out. You (the OP) were badly served by the call-taker; if you'd reported it from the scene it should have been recorded as a "crime in progress" and graded immediate response. Don't let it drop, but don't waste energy getting all Major (ret'd) Angry of Tunbridge Wells either.
And theft is an 'intent' offence, the second he takes your bike the full offence is complete, he doesnt have to disappear into the distance with it.
I cannot believe the police have not tracked down the vehicle and the potential stash of stolen bikes that will undoubtedly be found with it.
This seemingly small incident (on the grand scheme of things) could almost certainly lead to a much more significant discovery (on personal experience)
It is an excellent opportunity, providing the car isn't stolen.
I really hate these C***s
Any updates on this??
Hi,
My name is Merryn Hockaday (5297)from Thames Valley Police. Please be aware that we have identified a suspect who is currently under investigation.
We have also spoken to a Manager at the Look Out who is currently putting crime prevention measures in place.
If you would like to speak about a specific crime, please phone 101 and ask to speak to Sgt Paul Morgan who looks after this area.
Kind regards,
Merryn
Superb. Thanks for the update.
Great stuff. Nice to see something good has come out of this.
Good stuff, many thanks for the update. 😀
Nice work Merryn, go get the bastards!
Thank you Merryn, and if you recover any bikes, be sure to post here.
Wow we now have official statements from Police on STW.
Yes the police have been in touch today and think they know who it is. I'm surprised I didn't expect to hear anything else from them 🙂 I will keep you updated with what happens. 🙂