Garage ram raid

If we’re criticising maintenance, that garage wall definitely needs pointing.

I’d be wondering if anyone’s got a grudge against you?

I’m not intending to move and am quite ‘ok’ with things. It wasn’t a random fight in a pub / mugging in the street. It was targeted and now their cost / benefit will kick in. They now know the police are taking serious interest in them and that my bike are locked to the wall (and aren’t that expensive).

Thanks for all the kind words.

Horrible thing to have happen to you. Hope you’re back to fitness soon.

Shocking. Glad you’re relatively ok.

Thanks for all the kind words.

I hope mine were taken in the spirit they were intended. But your grass definitely does need sorting :D

Heal quick.

That downpipe bracket on the wall could come off. It’s only two screws.

My garage has been targeted twice. Once was a crap attempt at hacksawing the hasp lock that caused the door to ‘flex’ and bang, waking me. The other was removing a pane of glass from a side window very carefully, but it was already barred from the inside with roofing bars, so not fast to cut. I upped security both times, but a ram raid is something else.

Reasonable force only isn’t it?

AIUI “reasonable” is based on your own perception of the threat you are under at the time you act in your defence. Hence aggressive burglars have been killed and no criminal action taken.

Not at all recommending going down that route though.

That’s pretty shitty :(

I broke into my own garage by mistake once when I crashed my motorbike into the door. I was fairly disappointed with how little force it took.

Smoke bombs and pepper spray should be setup for further attempts though last thing you need is to accidentally set them off retrieving your bikes from garage.

Heal rapidly and recover well.

If you get no updates off the police, contact your local MP. They can chase it up, and have instant access to the local chief inspector.

Wow what a scary experience. Whereabouts in bs6? I’m probably quite local to you. Hope you get yourself and your garage mended quick. And hope they catch the bastards!

Bloody hell and bs6 is just around the corner from me !!! …. Get well soon

Not cool. Get well soon.

>Whereabouts in bs6?

It seems unlikely that OP will dox himself further.

After this thinking of making it easier to break in and just have better insurance.

This is my approach, I am also with Aviva so do let me know how your claim goes!

OMG

You were so brave and none of us know what we would have done in those circumstances. Mend soon and I hope the police catch the B*****ds.

Healing vibes OP.

Hope the police have an idea who’s involved.

I wonder if the people having a pop at you for getting stuck in have ever faced a situation like this, where instinct takes over.

That’s horrendous. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Adrenalin is a hell of a drug!

Its easy for me to say (from the comfort of my office and not ‘in the moment’) but I’d not consider taking on anyone who was breaking into or stealing my posessions. However, I’m unsure how that’d pan out in reality once that adrenaline kicked in.

Heal quickly pal.  If you wont consider moving i would definitely be looking into getting a dog or two.  A couple of staffies would make scum like this think twice.

I wonder if the people having a pop at you for getting stuck in have ever faced a situation like this, where instinct takes over.

Happened to me once, saw someone trying to open the kitchen window from the outside (I was inside looking out) and gave chase. They got away as I was too slow out of the building and just had to guess at the junction which way they’d gone, but yes did it without thinking. It’s only heading back to the house you think ‘what would I have done if I had caught them?’

Unlike the OP though there was only one of them. I did back down and reverse away when confronted by two guys in a road rage incident though, odds were less good. Hopefully the OP has made them realise he’s not an easy target and they won’t try again.

Heal up quick OP.

Going after them may have been the wrong thing in hindsight but you’ve got a vague description of them and the fact they work as a trio.

Hopefully adding assualt to their crimes has given the police something to go after and they end up off the streets.

I’ve said this before but the worst thing about these scum is the absolute financial inefficiency of their work. Even if they were successful they’ve stolen and written off a cheap but functioning car, done damage to the garage that will take days of work to put right; all to steal 3 bikes which will fetch them how much on the second hand market – and then split 3 ways. Thousands of pounds out of the pockets of everyone who insures with Aviva, and they would have got more money if they had done a full shift of minimum wage.

Hope you heal fast. That’s an impressive door. Mercifully I was asleep when mine was broken into and never felt the adrenaline rush (until filling out the insurance claim). Best bike indoors? Helmet and scaffolding pole at the ready for next time? Ear-splitting alarm? Bird scarer shotgun blanks? Real shotgun?…

It’s only heading back to the house you think ‘what would I have done if I had caught them?’

I guy I know did catch the gentleman stealing his motorbike (3rd or 4th time he’d either had it stolen or damaged in an attempt to steal it). Apparently the police accepted his explanation that the gentleman had fallen over and hurt himself.

(He was well known to the police and had been arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to short prison terms several times prior to this.)

He did end up having to move, the area he lived in was not the best… OK, it was a dump (rough end of Derby).

Bloody hell man, that’s terrible. Glad you’re not seriously hurt.
BS6, that’s St George sort of area? I’m BS4 and we have had increasing levels of crime here over the past few years. I’ve given up caring now and if stuff gets stolen then so be it. I’m not about to challenge anyone in the act. I used to really stick up for Bristol when friend would say it’s a dodgy city, but I’m finding it hard to not agree with them now.
In the past 5 years we’ve had
-one person stabbed and bled to death at the bottom of the lane which accesses our house
-neighbours garage door peeled back at 6pm on a weekday night and bike taken
-16 year old boy beaten up on my literal doorstep by a gang of balaclava wearing youths
-my work van broken into 4 times

Heal quickly pal.  If you wont consider moving i would definitely be looking into getting a dog or two.  A couple of staffies would make scum like this think twice.

:D

They’re just the worst dogs for security detail. Mine would be off with the burglars, all they’d need to do is give him a little fuss. He was leaving with the Amazon delivery driver the other week, all he did was smile at him and give him a quick stroke, useless :D

Dammit, not so good and very glad you are ok. Hope you heal up good and the police can find the scrotes.

Also, BS6? I used to live up that way (above Montpellier) when i was working in town. St. Pauls was a bit crappy in places, but it was changing (for the better I thought).

It’s Redland and I have a dog. She was fast asleep and really not interested. If they had dressed as postmen she’d have gone for them.
Feeling a bit twitchy tailed today and not sleeping great. Builders ‘should’ be here later / tomorrow to board up back of garage.

😀

They’re just the worst dogs for security detail. Mine would be off with the burglars, all they’d need to do is give him a little fuss. He was leaving with the Amazon delivery driver the other week, all he did was smile at him and give him a quick stroke, useless 😀

Aye thats true.  I suppose you could go the other way.  I have a couple of schnauzers and they make an ungodly amount of noise.  But they would be defeated by a single sausage i fear.

As a fellow Bristol resident (BS5) this stuff scares the crap out of me.  Living in a terrace with no garage/shed, my only bike lives in the house.  Not sure if that’s better or worse.

It does seem odd though. I generally think that STW (and enthusiasts generally) have hugely different ideas of what constitutes a ‘nice’ or ‘expensive’ bike. We see something like a Sonder Camino as a good value, mid ranger, and they see A TWO THOUSAND POUND BIKE!!one

But on the other hand, you hear about these ‘thefts to order’ or whatever, and if people are going to go to the extreme lengths here, they seem to know exactly what they’re after. As someone said, it’s a lot of risk and effort for the chance of getting, what, a few hundred quid each?

****.

OP, I hope you’re feeling better soon, and good luck with the hassle of the insurance and whatnot.

Seems to be lots of bike crime. On a sportive, it went up a few hills local to home. On one of the lamposts it said ‘don’t go riding your expensive bikes around here as there have been gangs on motorbikes taking them – FFS it’s a couple of miles from my house !

In my town there’s a British Transport Police office about 50 feet away from the bike racks where bikes are regularly stolen.

Police are clearly no deterrent so are failing to help prevent crime, and are regularly exposed as failing to investigate property crime, burglaries etc. Taxpayers aren’t getting value for money, police resources need to be focussed where the customers require them.

In London high end bikes are stolen by Albanian gangs and shipped to Russia where they fetch higher prices due to the import sanctions, so also a political borders/immigration issue here.

Taxpayers aren’t getting value for money

Funny how when you brutally cut Police numbers, and things like Surestart centres, crime starts to go up a few years later? 🤔

Funny how when you brutally cut Police numbers, and things like Surestart centres crime starts to go up a few years later

Correlation isn’t evidence of causation. Except when it is.

He did end up having to move, the area he lived in was not the best… OK, it was a dump (rough end of Derby).

You’re going to have to narrow it down more than that!

Have you considered moving house? Because I’d be gone if we were being targeted so persistently by such motivated, violent criminals

Massive cost/cashflow and would likely need to be disclosed in pre contract enquiries.

A lot easier said than done I fear.

“In London high end bikes are stolen by Albanian gangs and shipped to Russia where they fetch higher prices due to the import sanctions, so also a political borders/immigration issue here”

What’s your source for those allegations?

The same as you climate change denial bollocks?

https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-urge-police-presence-bikejacking-hotspot-306883

A quick Google turns up a few reports.

I’m guessing the heavy duty door attracts as much as it deters, kinda says there’s something well worth nicking behind me, I’d get a couple of those cages you fill with rocks as makeshift bollards, maybe take up Archery and have a target on the garage, pretty sure it’s totally legal to own a bow and arrows and practice on your own private land, even in the middle of the night 😁

**** hell, op……!

My biggest sympathies going your way.

Had bike stolen from our basement on the second night in the new flat. They took the GF’s 1k Boardman as opposed to my tricked out DB Alpine no idea what I would have done if I’d caught them.

I wonder if the people having a pop at you for getting stuck in have ever faced a situation like this, where instinct takes over.

Mate of mine in Köln/Cologne had his bike taken from a petrol station when he went inside to buy some smokes. He saw the guy grab his bike and ride off. He gave chase, but didn’t say anything, chasing the guy several hundred metres until the guy turned into an alleyway. There matey caught up with him and decked him with a punch to the head and proceeded to kick the living wotnots out of the guy. His new Nike trainers were red. He ended up burning the shoes, but at least he had his bike back.