Cycling Weekly loses £150,000 worth of bikes and kit. Oops.

[Globalti]

That's a bit heavy, I hope they were insured:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/l...o-150000-of-bikes-and-equipment-stolen-360548

I bet they are in a container on their way to Russia or the FYR by now.

 

[Drago]

That's why Plod tell people not to leave items in their vans overnight.

 

[raleighnut]

Inside job or information.

 

[Drago]

Not necessarily. Hotels car parks are a major target for Johnny Lightfingers.

 

[nickyboy]

How big a vehicle would you need to get 27 bikes in it? My reason for asking is that your average thief presumably isn't driving around in a vehicle big enough. So either he had to shuttle the bikes which sounds a bit risky for him or he had a vehicle big enough which sounds like some inside knowledge

 

[raleighnut]

Could even have been someone in the Hotel bar, overheard them and a quick bell to a tea-leaf mate with access to a 'Luton' or 7 1/2 tonner.

 

[jefmcg]

No alarms???

 

[NickNick]

[QUOTE 5060507, member: 43827"]A friend of mine is a mechanic for one of the cycling teams. He regularly keeps up to £100k of kit in his van. When at home he parks it reversed tight to a wall, with a car parked tight to each side of it. Once it broke down on the way back from a race and he was so worried about theft that he slept on the floor of the van overnight in a lay-by.[/QUOTE]


Have had a couple of friends get vans stolen with 10s of thousands of sound system equipment, both were after the parties and couldn't get straight back to the lockups. In an ideal world you don't leave anything of value in a van overnight, but it can't always be avoided.

This CW theft doesn't sound like it was an opportunistic theft, if they were able to clear out the contents of all 3 vans the thiefs must have know what they going to steal.

 

[NickNick]

Not necessarily. Hotels car parks are a major target for Johnny Lightfingers.

If they'd just done the one van then I'd agree, but all three...

 

[screenman]

Hotel car park, there must surely be security camera's.

Something really clear like shown in this one.

http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2017/11/axe-wielding-men-rob-north-hykeham-betfred/

 

[jefmcg]

Hotel car park, there must surely be security camera's.

"Hotel car park CCTV footage failed to shed any light on the theft"

 

[screenman]

"Hotel car park CCTV footage failed to shed any light on the theft"

Than you, I have not read that report.

 

[Drago]

How big a vehicle would you need to get 27 bikes in it? My reason for asking is that your average thief presumably isn't driving around in a vehicle big enough. So either he had to shuttle the bikes which sounds a bit risky for him or he had a vehicle big enough which sounds like some inside knowledge

They had all night, an 8 or more hour window of opportunity. Could have made several trips in one vehicle quite easily. Hotel car parks are traditionally some of the worst autocrime hot spots, particularly in the approach to Christmas or anywhere near some local venue or attraction. That's why car insurance is blummen expensive for people in the industry. It could be a tip off from a less than honest employee, but this type of theft is more common than most folk realise. I mean, how much publicity would it have got if they hadn't reported it in their own magazine? An inch on page 5 or the local chipwrapper perhaps.

Having cleared one van it doesn't take much imagination to suss that the 2 vans parked next to it may provided equally juicy pickings. Door bending is the hallmark of the local Level 1 hand-to-mouth scumbag who is stealing for subsistence, not the style of the organised gangs that take a more professional approach to their "work"

 

[NickNick]

They had all night, an 8 or more hour window of opportunity. Could have made several trips in one vehicle quite easily. Hotel car parks are traditionally some of the worst autocrime hot spots, particularly in the approach to Christmas or anywhere near some local venue or attraction. That's why car insurance is blummen expensive for people in the industry. It could be a tip off from a less than honest employee, but this type of theft is more common than most folk realise. I mean, how much publicity would it have got if they hadn't reported it in their own magazine? An inch on page 5 or the local chipwrapper perhaps.

Having cleared one van it doesn't take much imagination to suss that the 2 vans parked next to it may provided equally juicy pickings. Door bending is the hallmark of the local Level 1 hand-to-mouth scumbag who is stealing for subsistence, not the style of the organised gangs that take a more professional approach to their "work"

But what's the likelihood of an opportunistc Level 1 hand to mouth type thief being able to handle the logistics of clearing 3 vans in a night?

Although thinking about it, one van had the side panel/door bent back, but the other two had the keys done in. It could be two separate but connected lots of thieves. Opportunistic chancer number 1 bends door back clear and steals contents, realises the other two vans will have similar kit in them and sells info on to a more professional outfit.

 

[screenman]

Maybe the folded door van did not have a lock in the door.