My Stolen Peugeot Bike

[Bob P]

Last Saturday night I forgot to put my bike in before going to bed. When I got up in the morning it was gone, lifted over the wall at the front of the house.

My neighbour was able to tell me about 4 drunken lads at the front of the house sitting on our car sometime after 2am, one of them had a for sale sign. They stayed there for about 20 minutes before splitting up in opposite directions
As we live close to a garage I asked them to check their cctv. Sure enough there they were walking past the garage with a for sale sign. They actually entered the forecourt of the closed garage making them more visible to the other cameras.

20 minutes later 3 of the 4 could be seen passing the garage again on the opposite side of the road going in the opposite direction.

What about the 4th lad? Well as he must have continued towards the town centre within 50 metres he would have been picked up on one of the community cameras as although not manned they are on and it was pointed in the right direction.

I reported the matter to the local police and the camera info and they now know my name, nationality, date of birth and little else to be honest.

As yet they have not contacted the garage nor have they checked the town cameras. To top that I cycled around the town tonight just in case and I came across the police officer dealing with the matter. I told him I was on my was to take a photo of a similar bike as he requested and he told me to drop it into the station when I had it.

I took the photo and made the necessary mods to it. I then phoned to see if I could drop it in or if he could lift it, being that he was driving around the town. The answer I received was he was busy but would contact me within a few days.

Is it just me or do the PSNI do little to inspire confidence?
So here is the photo of the bike, stolen from Belfast road, Ballynahinch at around 2.45am on Sunday 29th July

Perhaps within a couple of days I might have some more photos and a video clip to add
of Ballynhinch night life

[Deek]

Scumbags! I know how you feel,i got one stolen a few years back and it made me sick.

[Bob P]

deek said:

Scumbags! I know how you feel,i got one stolen a few years back and it made me sick.

Your right there Deek, and i don't think much more of the ones that stole the bike

[Bob P]

Spoke to the man in charge of the town cameras tonight. He said he will let me view them at the weekend. He said the one at the top of the town will have caught the thief if he went that way.

As he didn't go the other direction things are looking good.

The police have not contacted him as yet but he said he was not surprised. They were meant to view a serious assault which happened nearly a month ago but have yet to show. the system over-writes after 30 days

Could this turn out Bob 1 - PSNI 0 ??

Maybe they could make up some lost ground on me if they stopped playing with ring tones and got off their asses in the station!

[Bob P]

Looks like I am not on my own

From page 12 of this weeks Mourne Observer
Bike theft leads to Ombudsman complaint
By Gavin Lonergan
A MAN with family ties in Castlewellan has gone to the Police Ombudsman over what he described as "disgraceful inactivity" on the part of the PSNI after he reported that his bicycle and equipment worth £850 had been stolen.
Aidan O'Donnell told the Mourne Observer how his bike was stolen from Lower Square in Castlewellan on Tuesday 17 July at around 10-30pm.
He said: "After the bike was
stolen I went to the police but was disgusted when the officers who took my initial complaint basically did nothing to find my property.
"I had to do the 'detective' work myself, along with my nephew, and we managed to track down the bike to., a house and also discovered the two men who had stolen it in the first place.
"When I approached the police with this information they did nothing to follow it up, and even when I obtained the CCTV footage showing them committing the crime, I was told the
images were not clear enough.
"I suspect the bike has been sold now. I even know people who were offered it, and the way in which the entire incident was handled is an absolute disgrace.
"I am left with no bicycle and no court case and will have to take a civil case against the thieves.
"I will be following this up against the police and am presently in the process of retaining the services of a solicitor to take a case against the officers involved, and I have also contacted the Police Ombudsman.
"The police have said Castlewellan is not a 'police friendly' town, but this is not the right way for them to go about winning back the hearts and minds of the people," he added.
A PSNI spokesperson stated; "Police in Newcastle have carried out a thorough investigation with the information they had been able to ascertain.
"Enquiries into the theft are continuing. If anyone has a complaint about the conduct of an officer, they are advised to contact the Police Ombudsman," she added.