Woman, 64, channels inner Miss Marple to track down stolen bike but is told to "get it yourself" by police
The £3,000 bike was stolen in front of her at a pub
A 64-year-old woman channelled her inner Miss Marple to track down a teenager after her bike was stolen, only to be told by police: “Go and recover it yourself - but call 999 if things get nasty.”
The victim, who does not want to be named, was sat outside the Bridge Tavern pub in East Street, Old Portsmouth, around 2pm on July 17 when she spotted a boy taking bolt croppers to her “distinctive” Giant Liv Vall E size XS modified mountain bike.
She “yelled out” at the thief before giving chase alongside a friend who cycled after the teenager before flagging down a police car - but the boy and his accomplice could not be found.
Angry at losing her beloved bike she had for over five years and used on countless mountain trips, the woman unlocked her inner Mrs Marple and turned detective as she investigated what had happened to her bike.
The stolen bike, worth around £3,000 when she bought it, was flagged to her by someone in the mountain bike community as being up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
After being left with “no faith” in the police amid slow progress and a failure to initially request CCTV from a nearby building, her investigations uncovered a fake profile based in Leigh Park was selling the bike.
“I went to Havant police station and begged them to help before the bike was sold - they wouldn't do anything, because I didn't have an assigned officer and also because the offence occurred in Portsmouth and not Havant,” she said.
“The desk sergeant even suggested that I might like to message the fake profile myself and go and recover the bike, but to call 999 if things got nasty.
“The desk sergeant was looking at me when he said this - I'm 64 and a tiny 5ft 1in. I asked if he was serious. The bike was subsequently sold that evening.”
The woman finally met an officer who took her statement 10 days after the theft while it was also later confirmed that police had now requested CCTV from the nearby building - 13 days after the incident.
“The police told me they cannot contact the fake profile, or gain any clues from his other videos selling what I must assume are other stolen goods. This is despite the fact that one of the videos shows a stolen bike located in Leigh Park and there are a number of faces and numberplates shown in other videos. I do not have the resources of the police to investigate this myself,” the victim said.
“I have not heard anything further from them about the two youths pictured in the CCTV. The owner of the CCTV told me that the police know these youths, but if that is the case they haven't told me about this.
“I don't wish to jeopardise any investigations that may be ongoing, but if I'm honest I don't see that they are doing much and if I hadn't pestered them, pointed them at the CCTV and the Facebook Marketplace advert, I don't think they would have done anything.”
She added: “This is not about the money as I was insured. This is about the initial violation of the theft itself. They took from me my much loved bike which I paid for in instalments over a year as it was expensive.
“Since I bought that bike five and a half years ago, I have explored the countryside both locally and further afield, made many happy memories and in the process clocked up over 10,000 miles.
“These thieves - and the seller if they are not the same person - took away my freedom to jump on my bike and just enjoy our beautiful countryside. I don't see myself visiting the city with my bike ever again.”
A police spokesperson said: “We received a report on 17 July that an electric mountain bike had been stolen from East Street in Portsmouth between 2pm and 3pm the same day.
“An investigation has been launched and officers from the St Thomas Neighbourhood Policing Team are carrying out enquiries, such as reviewing CCTV footage, to establish the full circumstances.”