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CCTV video of thief stealing boy's bike goes viral - watch it hereBexley bike thief (source Steven Sallis on Twitter)

CCTV video of thief stealing boy's bike goes viral - watch it here

Bicycle was stolen in Bexley, south east London, on Satuday afternoon - police are investigating
by Simon_MacMichael
Tue, Sep 29, 2015 15:45
14

CCTV footage of a man stealing a boy’s bike in south east London has gone viral after it was posted online.

A post of the video of the theft from outside a shop in Bexley High Street has been retweeted more than 1,500 times since it was put on Twitter yesterday.

A 12-year-old boy had locked up the Carrera Vengeance bike, which belongs to his older brother, outside a shop while he had a haircut on Saturday.

Their father, assistant head teacher Keith Powell, spoke to the shop owners and was able to secure the CCTV footage, which was posted to Twitter by family friend Steven Sallis.

“The man was walking around, stalking the area for five or 10 minutes,” said Mr Powell.

“He took out his cutters from his back pocket, snapped the lock chain and then took off at exactly 12.13pm.

“Thankfully, in the footage you can see his face, so I’m hoping someone recognises him.”

He added: “My son was pretty shocked. He was even scared telling his mum and I because he thought he’d get told off.

“My kids have grown up on Bexley High Street and this crime has happened right on their doorstep.

“I was shocked too, not just with the theft, but how blatant it was in broad daylight – he didn't have a care in the world.”

Police were alerted to the tweet and are investigating.

It’s not the first time a cycling-related video filmed in Bexley Village has gone viral.

In 2011, a YouTube video of a cyclist being assaulted by the occupant of a vehicle was picked up the national press after the victim, Simon Page, approached road.cc to help try and track down the attacker.

The perpetrator, John Nicholls, subsequently turned himself in at a south east London police station and later pleaded guilty to common assault.

– Bexley video attacker sentenced

Bexley
bicycle thief
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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14 comments

Avatar
Timsen | 8 years ago
0 likes

Genuine thanks to gazzaputt for a constructive comment & helpful suggestion rather than the usual on this forum. You could well be onto something & help catch this guy. This was after all the purpose of releasing the video.

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CXR94Di2 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Did you notice this wasn't a young scrote, he was a mature bloke who should know dam well by now , it's wrong to steal. This guy will be identified, good quality images.

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gazzaputt | 8 years ago
0 likes

I live just up road. He doesn't ride up the road he turned into a cul-de-sac that tells me he had a car or van parked up there. Or he lives there! I'd look further on to see what vehicle comes out of the turning after he rode up there.

Opportunist theft? Driving through and saw the bike.

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Dnnnnnn replied to gazzaputt | 8 years ago
0 likes
gazzaputt wrote:

I live just up road. He doesn't ride up the road he turned into a cul-de-sac that tells me he had a car or van parked up there. Or he lives there! I'd look further on to see what vehicle comes out of the turning after he rode up there.

Opportunist theft? Driving through and saw the bike.

I hope you've passed that on to the police!

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Jacobi | 8 years ago
0 likes

I see that the lowlife came prepared with cutters. He obviously left home with the intention of stealing some poor sod's pride and joy.

Stealing bikes must be his livelihood - or maybe he considers it a hobby. Wouldn't it be nice to meet him whilst he's at work?

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therealsmallboy | 8 years ago
0 likes

What a lowlife scumbag tw@t.

Hopefully someone will recognise him and rather than call the Police, employ some proper justice. Use his cutters on his fingers and feed them to him.

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tourdelound | 8 years ago
0 likes

"clayfit" wrote, "It should be possible to leave a bike even without a lock and expect it to be there 3 days later."

I quite agree, the truth is though, you can't.

"Plasterer's Radio" wrote, "It sounds like you are victim blaming......It is a kids bike, remember."

Kids bike, adults bike, don't think the scumbag thief really cares.

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Russell Orgazoid replied to tourdelound | 8 years ago
0 likes
tourdelound wrote:

"clayfit" wrote, "It should be possible to leave a bike even without a lock and expect it to be there 3 days later."

I quite agree, the truth is though, you can't.

"Plasterer's Radio" wrote, "It sounds like you are victim blaming......It is a kids bike, remember."

Kids bike, adults bike, don't think the scumbag thief really cares.

You had to justify your initial comment, I suppose.
You failed.

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vonhelmet | 8 years ago
0 likes

It would be lovely if you could leave a bike and not have it be nicked, in the same way that it would be lovely if you could leave your front door unlocked or leave the car keys in the ignition while you do the weekly big shop. Yes, it's the thief who is to blame, but it's not abundantly surprising that it's happened, and a better lock might have prevented it.

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Russell Orgazoid | 8 years ago
0 likes

What a worthless piece of shit that man is.

I hope you get knocked off it by a bus, you tosser.

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clayfit | 8 years ago
0 likes

And women should not wear short skirts in case they get attacked, right, tourdelound?
Don't blame the owner, blame the scumbag who stole the bike.
It should be possible to leave a bike even without a lock and expect it to be there 3 days later.

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tourdelound | 8 years ago
0 likes

People have got to learn to actually try and secure their bikes, that bike may just as well have been tied to the bike stand with a shoe lace. If the bike had been shackled to the bike stand with a half decent d-lock the scumbag thief would probably have looked elsewhere.

Still, if my town hack is left with two d-locks holding it, I can be reasonably sure that it will still be there when I come back to it, especially if the other bikes at the stands are "secured" as well as that one was. 39

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Russell Orgazoid replied to tourdelound | 8 years ago
0 likes
tourdelound wrote:

People have got to learn to actually try and secure their bikes, that bike may just as well have been tied to the bike stand with a shoe lace. If the bike had been shackled to the bike stand with a half decent d-lock the scumbag thief would probably have looked elsewhere.

Still, if my town hack is left with two d-locks holding it, I can be reasonably sure that it will still be there when I come back to it, especially if the other bikes at the stands are "secured" as well as that one was. 39

It sounds like you are victim blaming......It is a kids bike, remember.

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tatsky | 8 years ago
0 likes

Wow, extremely quick and very blatant.

From a distance it could be mistaken that he was just fumbling with his lock key.

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