WATCH: Bike thief boasts of ‘fun’ thefts and burning bikes
The reformed thief revealed his motivations and tactics to the BBC
A FORMER MOTORCYCLE thief has boasted of joy riding and burning bikes ‘just for the fun of it’.
Speaking to the BBC the former thief commented: “Bikes are so easy to steal.
“If I want a bike, I’m going to take it.”
The thief reportedly began stealing motorcycles as a child, but following a stint behind bars has put it all behind him.
As for his motivation behind the thefts, he explains: “I did it just for the fun of it basically. I’d go out and find a bike, just ride it around until it was either out of petrol or something was wrong with it and set it on fire and just leave it there.
“Just throwing it in people’s faces and saying ‘we can do what we want’.”
The BBC report comes following years of increasing motorcycle theft in the Bristol area, which Avon and Somerset Police are attempting to combat with a dedicated operation, and the help of groups of individuals recovering stolen motorcycles. The Stolen Motorcycle Recovery Bristol group is headed by Blackhawk MCC members Joe Mathews, Domonik Wójcik and Martin Bailey, who patrol Bristol in their converted recovery van. The trio rely on social media for tip offs on the location of the vehicles.
Inspector Rob Cheeseman, who leads Operation Buell, commented: “We do a lot of work in and around building up our intelligence picture. We use a lot of the time the social media platforms where they like to brag and boast about their exploits and we use that to our advantage to make sure that we are as up to date as possible in terms of who the offenders are.
