Stolen Thorn club Tour

[bertie1]

My green Thorn club Tour was stolen from Cheltenham on the night of 24 April. It appeared the next day on ebay. The Police have been brilliant and without going in to too much detail, the auction was won to get it back. Something spooked the seller and they withdrew the bike and aonther they had listed. I attch a picture taken when I bougyt it a few weeks ago (I have made some changes I can identify). I fear it is now in pieces or dumped, but if anyone sees a suspicious sale do let me know. Many thanks.

[GerryMc]

Hi, I've just seen this on Gumtree, http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/thorn ... /101788331
I would love to buy it as it is a dream bike for me, however, having now seen your post I fear it may be your bike and I don't want a stolen bike at any price.
If it is your bike I hope that you get this message soon enough to recover it, people that steal our hard earned property are a scourge!
Best of luck.

[bertie1]

You are a star. I have checked the pictures carefully and unless they have gone to the time and expense of making changes I do not think this is my bike. However the description is quite similar and some if the wording makes me cautious. The price is suspiciuosly low. I will call them this morning for a bit of background, ask where they live etc. I will let you know asap. Do you want me to call you? Thanks again.

[kuba]

Great spot Gerry.

Bertie, I think you should definitely alert the police again. The main photo in the Gumtree advert comes from this thread: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/ind ... pic=2440.0 but the other photos come from a completely different site and are in fact close-ups of a very different bike with drops: http://northernwalker.wordpress.com/201 ... -upgrades/

Please post here when you've seen these comments and can Admin please lock this thread until the bike is hopefully recovered, so the thief is not spooked again.

[bertie1]

Thankyou so much. On to it now.

[bertie1]

Delighted to say as a result of GerryMc and kuba and Gloucestershire Police this bike has been recovered intact. GerryMc raised the alarm, Kuba spotted the advert pictures were not genuine and GerryMc has been absolutely fantastic in liaising with all concerned for which I am enormously grateful.

[horizon]

Great news - it shows that this network can produce results.

[kuba]

Brilliant! I wish more folks were as vigilant and genuine as GerryMC.

[Nettled Shin]

It's good to hear there was a happy ending to this. Would you tell us how you approached the police, and what they did? In other cases (perhaps some documented on here) when I've heard of stolen stuff being seen on ebay, plod have done nothing at all.

[Edwards]

This is fantastic news, congratulations to those involved in the recovery of the bike. You should be pleased with yourselves.

[700c]

Excellent news, well done all.

[bertie1]

Reference my experience with the Police I was anxious given the much comment when I searched the internet for experience of others. I was confident I could clearly identify the specific bike and had paperwork from an efficient previos owner I bought the bike from just a few weeks ago. I had made some changes which made identification easier and Thorn Bikes are relatively rare. From the start Gloucestershire Police were efficient and helpful- no I do not work for them! When the seller on ebay pulled the bike before a meet could be arranged they went in on a warrant-no joy- and when the suspicuous Gumtree ad appeared they picked the ball up straight away, I could clearly explain why I believed this could be my bike and with the excellent help of GerryMc got the bike back. In both cases time was short as these sellers look for quick sales and I did not want to lose the chance of recovery or have someone buy innocently and then lose the bike and their money if they were traced after the sale. I was persistent and had invaluable help from this forum and the Police in my experience delivered. Regards to all.

[peterbayliss]

I think it is great news you got your bike back and the way other forum users helped.