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Warning to retailers after two bike shops targeted by turbo trainer thieves this week (+ video)

Retailers in Leicester and Milton Keynes hit over past two days

Two bike shops, one in Leicester, the other in Milton Keynes, have been targeted this week by thieves seeking to steal turbo trainers, with one of the shop owners warning other retailers to be vigilant.

On Monday afternoon, two men entered Websters Cycles in Leicester and made off with two turbo trainers, one of which was subsequently retrieved.

On its Facebook page, where it posted CCTV video, the shop said: “We were robbed today at 4pm by some scumbags, they targeted expensive turbo trainers luckily we retrieved one around the corner but there's a hot Elite Direto-Drive out there so if you hear of one going cheap please inform us.

“It was a frightening experience for my staff with very severe threats being made, two spoke with strong Irish accents. Obviously the police have been informed and we do have further CCTV.”

The Facebook post said that the thieves drove off in a dark blue 2009 Ford Focus which had its boot open, the car being driven up Burleigh Avenue and turning left at the Bethel at approximately 4.02pm.

“If you’re local maybe you have dashcam footage,” the post added. “This was planned and I suspect have done it before so others in the trade beware.

Less than 24 hours later, a similar incident took place at Corley Cycles in Milton Keynes yesterday lunchtime, although this time the suspects – whom Webster Cycles says are the same pair involved in Monday’s theft – left empty handed.

Corley Cycles said on Facebook: “Attempted robbery a short while ago at 13:04 this afternoon. Two lads around 6’ came in and while one distracted a member of staff the other tip toed up stair and tried to walk out with a turbo trainer. Thankfully nothing was taken and no one was hurt.”

The retailer, which in August 2018 was targeted in an overnight raid in which thieves made off with 22 bikes worth a total of £70,000, posted two videos of the attempted theft to Facebook.

The first shows the suspect shown in the main picture above heading upstairs, the second shows the second suspect at the back of the store while his accomplice comes back downstairs with a turbo trainer.

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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13 comments

Avatar
ColT | 4 years ago
0 likes

That there's a market in dodgy turdos is what worries me...  3

Avatar
Thatsnotmyname | 4 years ago
1 like

biker phil wrote:

P---es. Thought I had better leave some letters out in case thatsnotmyname becomes even more intolerant.

Calling me 'intolerant' is a bit ironic really, considering I'm not the one conflating Irish accents with thieving.  But carry on if you like that sort of thing..

 

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Rik Mayals unde... replied to Thatsnotmyname | 4 years ago
0 likes

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

biker phil wrote:

P---es. Thought I had better leave some letters out in case thatsnotmyname becomes even more intolerant.

Calling me 'intolerant' is a bit ironic really, considering I'm not the one conflating Irish accents with thieving.  But carry on if you like that sort of thing..

 

Where I live, over the decades, we have had hundreds of 'travellers' (Hope that doesn't offend you) pitch up, on private land, council owned land etc. In fact my father's business, which he owned from the 1960s to the late 1980s, was targeted every time the 'travellers' were in the vicinity. Whenever they pitch up, as well as the shit they leave behind, the local crime rate shoots up, every time. They pitched up on the empty warehouse opposite my place of work on a busy industrial estate. In broad daylight they broke into the warehouse, and systematically stripped it of all valuable goods, pulling out copper pipes, electrical cable etc.

This also happened a few miles away. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-44288992. Nice folk eh?

So in my experience, in your words, I do conflate Irish accents with thieving, I suppose. This is from MY experience, I am not for one minute stating this is the norm, (In case I further offend you). One local Police sergeant hounds them daily when they turn up, checking their vehicles, stopping them daily, until they move on. Word has got out in the 'traveller' community and they avoid his patch. He only adopts this approach to keep his crime rates low, because the rates shot through the roof whenever they turned up, and he will readily tell you this.

So am I intolerant? No, I live in the real world, and see things from a common sense perspective. And, probably unlike you, have experienced it first hand, more times than I care to mention. 

I hope I haven't offended you by breaking your rose tinted glasses. 

 

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alansmurphy | 4 years ago
4 likes

Police are searching for 2 Irish men both called Toby Shaw...

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Judge dreadful | 4 years ago
1 like

Irish accents you say

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Thatsnotmyname replied to Judge dreadful | 4 years ago
1 like

Judge dreadful wrote:

Irish accents you say

Other accents are available.  What exactly are you implying?  Or are you just tossing out some casual bigotry?

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Rapha Nadal replied to Thatsnotmyname | 4 years ago
3 likes

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

Judge dreadful wrote:

Irish accents you say

Other accents are available.  What exactly are you implying?  Or are you just tossing out some casual bigotry?

The article does specifically say that the thieves had Irish accents?

 

Avatar
Thatsnotmyname replied to Rapha Nadal | 4 years ago
1 like

Rapha Nadal wrote:

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

Judge dreadful wrote:

Irish accents you say

Other accents are available.  What exactly are you implying?  Or are you just tossing out some casual bigotry?

The article does specifically say that the thieves had Irish accents?

 

Yes, I got that.  But you seem to be missing Judge Troll's unsubtle conflation of 'Irish = thief'.  Which was the point I was making.

Avatar
Rapha Nadal replied to Thatsnotmyname | 4 years ago
3 likes

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

Rapha Nadal wrote:

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

Judge dreadful wrote:

Irish accents you say

Other accents are available.  What exactly are you implying?  Or are you just tossing out some casual bigotry?

The article does specifically say that the thieves had Irish accents?

 

Yes, I got that.  But you seem to be missing Judge Troll's unsubtle conflation of 'Irish = thief'.  Which was the point I was making.

Well, they had Irish accents and pinched a turbo trainer so......

Avatar
Rik Mayals unde... replied to Rapha Nadal | 4 years ago
0 likes

Rapha Nadal wrote:

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

Rapha Nadal wrote:

Thatsnotmyname wrote:

Judge dreadful wrote:

Irish accents you say

Other accents are available.  What exactly are you implying?  Or are you just tossing out some casual bigotry?

The article does specifically say that the thieves had Irish accents?

 

Yes, I got that.  But you seem to be missing Judge Troll's unsubtle conflation of 'Irish = thief'.  Which was the point I was making.

Well, they had Irish accents and pinched a turbo trainer so......

P---es. Thought I had better leave some letters out in case thatsnotmyname becomes even more intolerant.

Avatar
Derk Davies replied to Rik Mayals underpants | 4 years ago
1 like

After living in rural Ireland for 6 years I find it wonderful that someone getting a hoe stolen from their garden makes the local news. The only place I've come across real theiving is the Wicklow mountains. Obviously the city's will be a bit different but there is far far less crime and theiving in general in Ireland than in England. Anyone who taints the Irish as theives dosn't really know what they are on about. It is very frowned upon around here.

 

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Rik Mayals unde... replied to Derk Davies | 4 years ago
0 likes

Tim K wrote:

After living in rural Ireland for 6 years I find it wonderful that someone getting a hoe stolen from their garden makes the local news. The only place I've come across real theiving is the Wicklow mountains. Obviously the city's will be a bit different but there is far far less crime and theiving in general in Ireland than in England. Anyone who taints the Irish as theives dosn't really know what they are on about. It is very frowned upon around here.

 

The thieves come over here, only because the travellers pitching up on land is illegal in Ireland. That is probably why you don't see it there. It is the same in many rural areas in this country. Anyone who hasn't experienced the travellers in England dosn't(sic) really know what they are on about.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to Rapha Nadal | 4 years ago
0 likes
Rapha Nadal wrote:

Well, they had Irish accents and pinched a turbo trainer so......

....so why comment on that point in the first post? Doesn't seem an unreasonable question - why does judgewhatever think that point is worth repeating?

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