Attempted Theft of Motorcycle in Ebsworth St

Just heard some noise outside and witnessed two guys trying to nick the motorbike outside our house. Took a couple of photos and a video. Guys fled on their scooters (with an entourage of scooters behind them) when they saw my flash go off.

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Phoned the police (dialed 101), and they turned up in less than five minutes - amazing response. Police said they recognised the scooter crew from my photos and video, but sadly they can’t pursue the little buggers because the police would be held liable if one of them got injured in the chase. “Lobby your MP,” said the Sgt I spoke to

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In a twist to the story, the police just let me know that the motorbike outside our house (a small black and yellow bike) was itself a stolen bike - they checked the chassis number. They’re taking it away for forensic analysis now:

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@anon5422159 Well done that man. If you look on toss you may find it belongs to someone on there. I hate these little hsits!

Well done dude, hope you’re not to tired today

Or even on here!

Imagine that! Lol

It’s ok @Pauline he is usually up til silly o’clock anyway lol

Two wheeled theft is close to my heart having had 3 bikes stolen. I hate the scum that do it. They dont work hard to buy their bikes, they steal them. I worked and saved bloody hard to buy my bikes, they were not only a commuter tool, they were a passion. I made some really great friends on my bike, my commute was so much easier (apart from all the idiots trying to kill me).

To arrive at where I parked my bike and to find it missing was almost like a physical blow. The idiots that steal them dont know that, to them it’s a game. They know the police wont chase them, they know that there is very little that anyone will do. The two I stopped did not hesitate in attacking me, I was quite happy to cause them a lot of physical harm but stopped as I knew I would no doubt be arrested.

Why are they allowed to get away with it, why are police not allowed to chase them? You steal a bike without a helmet, you get chased, crash injure yourself and die that’s on you, not the police.

I wish our politicians would grow some backbone and root out the cause, not worry about the consequences.

I am really sad to hear about your bikes and good on you, mate, for fending off the thieves.

The problem with you feeling legally jeopardised for doing so is a cultural and political one and it has a lot to do with the regressive Left, IMO.

Cameron, on the subject of defending your home from violent burglars (and recognising we needed political change), said:

This is one of many reasons I supported the Tories and their values.

Tories or Labour, dont care. Just wish they would grow some. I saw these guys in FH last Monday early evening during rush hour. Two scooters two up, one black one silver. Riding on busy pavements, through red lights and wrong side of the road. They think it’s so funny but when they crash it’s not their fault. It’s the nasty PoPo or 5-0. These idiots think they are ganstaz! They are not, they are muppets. Of course their parents will tell you that they are good boys, it couldn’t have been them.

One scooterist who I stopped going down Manor Mount the wrong way threatened to stab me. I called the police. They paid him a visit early one Saturday morning. His parents, both lawyers were shocked at what he had been up to.

Parents, know where your kids are.

Without being anti “chase them and let them fall off”… The other thing to consider with these matters, is the lengths some of these idiots go to to get away from the police, riding along pavements, through pedestrianised areas, parks etc.
The more desperate they become, the more reckless too. It’s a delicate balance.

@anon5422159 @Londondrz
This is more like it… And seeeee (police people), they nearly all got up without serious injury,

The ones I saw on Monday were not being chased yet rode like that anyway. It’s fun for them and they look hard. And yet, when caught or they fall off they cry for “mummy”.

I have to agree, it is hard to differentiate between those being chased, and those just “having fun”.
Either way, they are utter idiots, so not sure why they think they look cool.

In the same way if you wear your jeans without a belt and slung low you look cool. Actually you look like you forgot your belt.

A friend from SE5 just mentioned that two guys on a scooter tried to steal another scooter on the same night. Police attended and a pickup truck took the bike, so my friend assumes it was found to be a stolen vehicle (same as happened in Ebsworth St).

Worryingly, I read that this current scooter/motorbike crimewave is part of organised gang activity, and criminals are using the stolen bikes to commit far worse crimes:

Just to balance it out a bit, they also use the mopeds for riding like idiots on, and carry out street robberies. Still not nice, but not quite the scale of drivebys and murders.
If you look around you will see lots of what looks like abandoned mopeds on residential streets, which are generally pool-peds. Like Zipcar but without the payment or insurance, oh or permission.

If you do see a scruffy looking moped parked up, with or without a number plate, and it looks out of place, take a few minutes to report it to your local SNT. Could be nothing, could be something.

Anecdotally (based purely on what I see or hear in and around the area), these hoodlums are massively on the increase in the last 12 months. Something needs to change as I don’t think it can get much worse before we will start seeing serious repercussions.

I personally find the guys on the 4-wheelers wearing skeleton masks awfully creepy – I’m very much a live and let live type of person, but these guys really make me want to take up vigilantism. Absolutely nothing good can come of this incredibly anti-social behaviour, and the sooner the police puts a stop to it, the better. Bring on helicopters and drones to help round them up.

Yep, and you only need to look at the footage on The Standard today to see how they are getting away with it. There are not many times when I wish ill on people but I will make an exception in their case.

Lewisham police just got their hands on some video footage from a recent attempted theft on the A20:

More on the police website here (including contact details if you have information:

http://news.met.police.uk/news/appeal-following-attempted-motorbike-theft-172795?utm_campaign=send_list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid

I may not be an expert sleuth, but I’ll wager that whoever nicked it lives within walking distance of the Bampton Estate. However, as vehicle crime is not a priority for our police forces, I doubt we’ll be seeing police checking kids on scooters and motorcycles in the local area. And I’ve seen plenty who need checking, especially around Bellingham where they are often on motocross bikes and don’t even wear helmets.

Police won’t stop a scooter rider with no helmet. A scooter rider with no helmet won’t stop for police. Etc, etc…

It’s a wishlist, not reality, sadly.

As someone who works in the motorcycle industry and a previous victim of motorcycle theft, I’m frankly underwhelmed by the resources and priority given to the issue by the police. The vehicle crime team in the Met are brilliant and probably the best in the country, but every year they seem to be under threat of closure altogether.

One gang down:

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