An independent shop owner who had £35,000 worth of bikes stolen says he “never thought it would happen” since moving to a new store.
Burglars broke into Future Bikes in Colchester on Sunday 28th September and stole nine bikes in the middle of the night, leaving owner Matthew Abbott ruing his lack of security on the premises.
“We’re in quite a well-to-do residential area, we never thought it would happen.” Abbott told road.cc. “They came and smashed a fairly sizeable window and just started pulling bikes out the window.”
“It was a quick and easy smash through, probably all in four or five minutes. They just went for all the electric mountain bikes and a few carbon bikes.”
“I came down here thinking oh my god I’m cleaned out, because we don’t have a massive inventory. But I don’t think they knew what they were doing. They took £1500 bikes rather than the £6000 Trek right next to it or anything with deeper carbon rims.”
Abbott added that police had been quick to attend and that forensics arrived the same day to examine blood left at the scene. He also said Trek had been quick to help him.
The burglary has prompted Future Bikes to reconsider their security arrangements. “I’m a bit naive in retail” admitted Abbott, a former musician. “Our insurance is all good but we didn’t have CCTV up. I’ve put it up now as a deterrent.
“I also have a blacksmith friend of mine who is going to weld wheels together to use as bars over the windows but as a work of art by making a sculpture out of old rims. We’ve also set up smoke bombs.”
“We only moved to Colchester in April from a small village called Rowhedge where I thought it was more likely we’d get done. But we’ve grown massively since moving here, we do two or three times more [business] since moving but it does mean you have more eyes on you.”
Essex Police told the Daily Gazette that their investigation was ongoing and that anyone with information relating to the incident should contact them quoting 345 on Sunday 28 September. And whilst the break-in has led Abbott to changing some of his business practices, his attitude towards precautions and the community he serves hasn’t changed.
“We’ve had so many messages of support, customers coming to bring their bikes in for servicing to help us out. There’s always naysayers who say we could have stepped in and put bars up, but I didn’t want it to feel like a prison, we’re a small, independent shop.”
“I have faith in humanity, even if it’s come and bit me on the bum.”
7 thoughts on ““They just smashed the window and pulled the bikes out”: Thieves steal bikes worth £35,000 from newly opened shop”
“A bit naive in retail”!
“A bit naive in retail”!
No shit Sherlock. Just because it’s a fairly well-to-do area doesn’t mean there aren’t scumbags around.
It amazes me that people don’t take security more seriously.
I hope he’s got insurance otherwise he’s screwed.
His insurance according to
His insurance according to the article is “all good”. When he’s told his insurers of the new location , it’s up to them to impose security requirements and it looks like they’ve accepted the alarm.
I used to work in insurance and found regularity insurers put too much faith in alarms alone where there’s a high smash and grab risk for in and out quick .
Time after time I’ve seen this and they inevitably end up fitting additional physical impediments .
Agree with the scumbags comment , defo organised crime
Presumably the bikes had all
I’m surprised the police are investigating given the bikes had all been there for more than 2 hours …
And his insurance renewal £ may be interesting….
“… But I don’t think they
“… But I don’t think they knew what they were doing. They took £1500 bikes rather than the £6000 Trek right next to it or anything with deeper carbon rims.”
They knew exactly what they were doing. They took the decent price bikes that are easier to move on for a good price but left the higher value bikes which are going to be much harder to move without raising suspicions. Definitely naive when it comes to retail.
I’d beg leave seriously to
I’d beg leave seriously to doubt that: professional thieves are often shipping bikes abroad where no questions are asked about provenance and obviously the higher the value of the bike the better. In addition, often stolen bikes are broken down for parts as they are easier to sell (no frame numbers et cetera) and the value of the groupset alone on a £6000 bike will be worth more than a £1500 bike. I can’t imagine any experienced bike thieves deliberately leaving at £6000 bike in favour of a £1500 one, it is much more likely to be as the owner says and they just grabbed whatever was closest to hand.
You’d break the expensive
You’d break the expensive bikes down in to bits, so these were to order, which suggests a professional bike stealing gang.
Probably would find similarities to how it was done and what they took, to the bike shop nearer me that got done and has since been forced to close as a result.
Fwiw not that id cast
Fwiw not that id cast dispersions on Colchester, but the Lexden area is the posher part of the place.
I live less than 20 miles away and never knew they even existed.
But then I thought Rowhedge was a tiny quaint village where nothing much happened.