'I saw youths in balaclavas on my stolen bike - police didn't do much'
Euxton couple Robert and Sarah said they felt ignored by police after their garage was broken into in September.
A Euxton couple whose bikes were stolen from their home have accused police of a “total lack of interest” - even as they watched them being ridden around by thieves Preston.
Robert and Sarah Wight had been preparing for a trip to Spain in early September, when they woke up to find their garage door had been forced open.
“On the evening of September 5, Sarah and I went to bed at around 11:30,” Robert said. “We were getting up at 1:30 in the morning to get a taxi for a flight.
“When we got up, Sarah noticed the garage door had been forced open, and the bikes were gone. They were stolen within a very, very narrow time frame.”
Together, the two Husqvarna enduro motorcycles were worth approximately £10,000, according to Robert.
Also stolen were a Milwaukee 18 volt SDS drill in a silver case and a Bosch SDS drill in a Bosch case, both containing various drill parts.
With the pair needing to depart for their trip, Robert said they “handed it over to family” to deal with police.
“The Scene of Crime [officer] came around apparently, and did some bits and pieces. And then shortly after that, we received an email saying that a police officer was in charge of it, and then we received another email saying a different police officer was in charge.
“They basically didn’t do much.”
In emails seen by the Lancashire Post, an officer said they had been unable to secure CCTV footage of the incident, and the case was closed on September 15.
However, according to Robert: “They claimed that they did a CCTV patrol of the area, but I spoke to five of my immediate neighbours and they all claimed that the police never went round to them.
“Then a few weeks later, I was at Shorrock Motorcycles buying some parts, and I saw my bike go riding past with a group of other bikes with balaclava-clad youths on them.
“So, I reported that to police: nothing. They didn’t do anything about it. The email reply that I got said, ‘If you have any more sightings, let us know’.
“I emailed them back saying, ‘Well, is one sighting not enough?’.”
On October 13, Robert and Sarah secured footage from a neighbouring nursery showing the youths riding down the road on the stolen bike, who told him they cycled on the Leyland Road route regularly - “sometimes four or five times a day”.
In emails to police, he said he believed the other bikes in the footage could be stolen, too.
The officer responded that it would be “difficult” to identify the youths as they were wearing balaclavas, and urged the couple to report any more sightings.
“Their earlier comment about us requiring CCTV is kind of a moot point really, because they were wearing balaclavas. It’s completely pointless,” said Robert.
Robert and Sarah have now invested in additional security for their home, and are waiting for an insurance payment following the theft.
Robert said the insurance payment had been delayed for an extra month as police had failed to put a theft marker on the bikes when they were stolen.
He said the two of them had been left at a loss on how to get their bikes back - and feared that the thieves could be using them to commit other crimes around Preston.
“I can’t understand what the police need in order to act,” he said. “I’ve emailed this police officer quite a few times asking questions, and there’s not even a reply. Nothing.
“The theft is hard enough to deal with. It’s frustrating in the extreme, to be honest.”
In a statement to the Lancashire Post, Lancashire Constabulary said: “ At 2:23am on Sunday 6th September we were called to reports of a burglary at a property on Shawbrook Close, Euxton.
“It was reported that a garage had been broken into overnight and two motorbikes stolen.
“Since this was reported to us, the officer in charge of this investigation has made contact with the person who reported the crime, including by both phone and email. Enquiries including CCTV and forensics have been made, some of which are still ongoing at this time.
“This investigation remains open and enquiries are ongoing.”