Padgett family devastated after bike theft
Thieves target Peter Padgett’s personal collection of rare and classic bikes
THIEVES have stolen multiple classic bikes from the personal collection of Padgett’s Motorcycles founder Peter Padgett.
The burglary took place between 6pm Sunday evening and 3.30pm Monday afternoon. Staff returning after Christmas discovered that thieves had cut their way into a metal storage unit attached to Padgett’s Motorcycles in Batley, West Yorkshire.
The list of stolen bikes includes a brand new white 1976 Yamaha RD250 with red speed block on the tank, a brand new orange and black 1971 Yamaha YR5, along with a blue and white Vespa from the 1960s, a 1954 purple Ariel Square 4, a Yamaha DT100 from between 1976 and 1978 and a BSA Gold Flash made between 1950 and 1960.
Speaking to Visordown, Clive Padgett told us:
‘We came back after Christmas and discovered that some people had decided they wanted part of my dad’s collection of bikes. They took several bikes including an RD250 and YR5. Those bikes are quite unique in that they are brand new and my dad’s devastated, as you’d expect. We’re at a loss really. This is part of Padgett’s heritage and part of the history of Yamaha coming to the UK.
'Some of the bikes are irreplaceable – where do you find another new YR5 in the world? This isn’t about the value of the bikes, the biggest loss is the sentimental value; it’s about what they mean to my dad.
'We hope that someone might call Crimestoppers, or even call us anonymously here to say they might have an idea where the bikes are – anything to give us a steer.’
The police are keen to speak to anyone who has seen any suspicious activity in the vicinity of Padgett's Motorcycles around the time the theft occurred, or anyone with information about the current whereabouts of the stolen bikes. The Kirklees Burglary Team can be contacted via 101 or information can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
