-
Thanks for the report, James. Clearly a distressing experience, and I hope you get luckier soon, perhaps if the forum manages to put a bike together for you.
Seconding Señor Bear's request for better pictures. I can't see three of your pictures at all, as they are in the Apple-proprietary format HEIC.
On the theft itself:
As I had so much stuff to carry back, I left my bike locked up at the Montfichet Rd / Station entrance to Westfield, where M&S is. It was attached with the Abus lock you can see in the images. Right outside No.1 Stratford Place and the escalators up to the first-floor entrance to Westfield. I spotted two cameras in the ceiling (see images) controlled by Westfield and one on top of the traffic lights on the opposite side of the road.
[snip and re-arrange]
Within 24 hours, the response I got from the police was “An investigator from the Metropolitan Police Service has looked carefully at your case and we are sorry to say that, with the evidence and leads available, it is unlikely that it will be possible to identify those responsible. We have therefore closed this case.”
There were 2 Westfield Cameras facing the rail and one camera on top of the traffic light of the pedestrian crossing. So, I know they haven’t even bothered to check footage as only 1 day had passed before I’d received this e-mail and they’d have had to check 4 hours of footage!
I take it that it was here that you left it?
My suspicion would be that at the moment thieves are able to make creative use of the recommendation to wear face masks, making it largely impossible to use CCTV for clues as to their identity. That's not to excuse the police response, by the way, but you should never rely on CCTV for security. As for whether or not the police actually did review the CCTV footage, I found this report from February:
I can't find a report on whether or not the work was completed before the crisis hit. (It may well have been continued in spite of it, of course.) If it was, it is likely that the police would be able to review the footage very quickly. If the work wasn't completed, it could also be the case that at least the public camera may still have been out of action. I don't expect that the Westfield cameras will be affected by this. Since it is a comparatively new development, I expect that there will be some level of cooperation with the police, i.e. an agreement to share CCTV quickly and easily. That's just speculation, though. You could ask the police about what the case actually was with it, but as I say, CCTV would most likely not be crucial here.
I locked it up at 18:15. By the time I did all the shopping, walked back home and put it all away and walked back to my bike, it was 22:30. The bike was gone. The lock wasn’t cut open. But the rail bar had been bent. I’m still uncertain exactly how they managed to get the frame and wheel through the lock.
When you say 'the rail bar had been bent', do you mean the bar of the stand (assuming ylou locked your bike to one of the Sheffield stands there) or the lock?
If the former, presumably it had been cut, too? Or did it look as if it was levered? Thieves would normally have to use something like an angle grinder for this and this cannot fail but to attract attention, so really if anyone was around, someone might have called the police.
If you mean your lock was bent, and it wasn't cut, then I, too, can't see on the face of it how they would have been able to remove the bike from it, assuming you'd locked the bike correctly? Was the stand loose in the ground?
If the thieves damaged the stand, then there may have been witnesses, and you could look for them by means of a notice.
So, I’ve made a list of all bike stores in the area and have contacted them all with the details of the bike and images, in hope someone tries to sell it to them.
Thieves these days very rarely offer stolen bikes for sale to shops. It used to happen a lot (and I know of shops that were suspected or even convicted of handling stolen goods, including one that's still in operation), but not so much in recent years. As you may have read in other threads, bikes often show up at markets, e.g. Brick Lane or Nine Elms. Most markets are closed, of course, but some are open (Stoke Newington Farmers' Market is, for example), but as there must be far fewer than 'normal' that are open where bikes can be sold, you might be able to visit them. I'm afraid I don't know where to look to find that information; perhaps someone else can help. If there are currently no markets in operation where bikes can be sold, perhaps bikes these thieves are taking are being shipped elsewhere or kept somewhere.
None of this is very hopeful, but perhaps there are some things you can do in addition. Good luck, and with any luck the forum can get a bike together for you.
Oliver Schick-
Regarding selling stolen bikes, every bike I've seen listed on Facebook Marketplace seems to sell in under an hour at the moment so I imagine that is where thieves are moving them on. Worth keeping an eye on it along with Gumtree, Shpock etc
-
Thanks for the long reply. I can't seem to see my original post. I've gone to the most recent page on this thread and my post isn't there. How do I view the original post and edit it? iPhones naturally save photos as HEIC. I can covert and reupload as JPEG. But you're saying only some of them haven't uploaded or all of them? I've tried to upload them again in this reply. But please advise how I can edit my original post and rey-load them. Or should I re post this?
As for the CCTV in Newham, this won't affect Westfield.
As for the location, yes that's the one. Although it was parked up slightly further in that image. There's an entrance to a building you can see to the side of the elevator. My bike was parked right there against the guardrail for pedestrians. It should be clear in my images that I was referring to the bars on the guardrail being bent. Not the lock. The lock, which you should be able to see in the photos I uploaded, was secure and untouched.
yokes
JamesCooper
Last Wednesday was one of those days, where I just wanted all the suffering to be over. I’ve had a shit few years and the start to this year (my Dad passing) and then COVID (not being able to progress with any work, not being able to get my bone graft surgery nor able to have my girlfriend able to visit from LA), has made it way shitter.
Therefore, certain things when I’m in such a depressed state can really push me over the edge. In any other time of my life, I could laugh them off.
I set off around 5pm to Stratford on my bike. I needed to do a big shop. To save money, I actually visit several stores. Wilko for cleaning stuff as it’s the cheapest, a few key things at Lidl, most stuff at Morrisons and I’ll pop by M&S or Waitrose on the way back (to get a few jazzy nice bits: wine, deli stuff, posh snacks) to Hackney Wick through Westfield Stratford City.
As I had so much stuff to carry back, I left my bike locked up at the Montfichet Rd / Station entrance to Westfield, where M&S is. It was attached with the Abus lock you can see in the images. Right outside No.1 Stratford Place and the escalators up to the first-floor entrance to Westfield. I spotted two cameras in the ceiling (see images) controlled by Westfield and one on top of the traffic lights on the opposite side of the road.
I locked it up at 18:15. By the time I did all the shopping, walked back home and put it all away and walked back to my bike, it was 22:30. The bike was gone. The lock wasn’t cut open. But the rail bar had been bent. I’m still uncertain exactly how they managed to get the frame and wheel through the lock.
My heart sank and a bit of a panic attack set it in. My ankle was totally swollen from walking around for 5 hours and with all that shopping, most of which was in a huge back pack I carry around. This bike is my only mode of transport to get around easily right now and with summer coming, my only form of exercise and freedom. As my ankle is still broken (I have two pins holding my tibia together) and I’m unsure of when I can get my bone graft, my choices of exercise are severely limited, especially as swimming pools are closed. It was quite expensive when I bought it and I’d recently upgraded the pedals and foot straps and both wheels and tyres.
I can’t afford to replace it / buy a decent bike right now. As with most people, I’m not earning at the moment and I’m in arrears and the future is uncertain. I’ll probably have to forget about being able to cycle this summer now. I’ll try to snipe bike parts and have someone build me a custom number, as it’s way better value for money. But that’s way off. I’m skint right now.
Within 24 hours, the response I got from the police was “An investigator from the Metropolitan Police Service has looked carefully at your case and we are sorry to say that, with the evidence and leads available, it is unlikely that it will be possible to identify those responsible. We have therefore closed this case.”
There were 2 Westfield Cameras facing the rail and one camera on top of the traffic light of the pedestrian crossing. So, I know they haven’t even bothered to check footage as only 1 day had passed before I’d received this e-mail and they’d have had to check 4 hours of footage!
So, I’ve made a list of all bike stores in the area and have contacted them all with the details of the bike and images, in hope someone tries to sell it to them.
Please keep a look out for this bike. It’s bright pink and has the brand “FUJI” written on the frame Fujibikes .
The pedals are silver / brand new with leather foot straps.
.White handle bar grips
.Silver stem and silver seat post.
Hard to miss basically. Over the coming weeks, if you’re online please do a quick google whenever you can remember and have a moment spare, to see if it’s for sale, and a quick search on gumtree and ebay every few days, it would be much appreciated!
See below for what it looks like and where I locked it up.
Thanks
Coops