Family business rocked by theft of Grinch motorcycle display
Thieves smashed their way into a family-run repair centre near Wolverhampton, ripping motorbikes from a Grinch-themed Christmas display and causing around £10,000 of damage before fleeing in a van with no number plates.
Festive cheer took a distinctly un-Christmassy turn in Staffordshire last month after thieves quite literally stole Christmas — along with three motorbikes — from a family-run repair centre near Wolverhampton.
In what sounds like a rejected plotline from The Grinch Who Stole Bikes, two criminals smashed their way into the MG Accident Repair Centre in Four Ashes on January 3, causing thousands of pounds’ worth of damage in the process.
Their target wasn’t tucked away in a locked workshop, either, but front and centre in the showroom window: a much-loved festive display featuring two Grinch figures perched on dirt bikes. Surrounding the Dr Suess characters were snow, presents, a sleigh and a red car.
CCTV footage shows the pair shattering the reinforced glass frontage, yanking the Grinch mannequins off their mounts and dragging the bikes out into the night. They made off with two adult-sized red Honda motocross bikes and a child’s electric motocross bike, before disappearing in a white Renault van with no number plates fitted.
Owner Grace Hughes told The Telegraph the bikes were the family’s “pride and joy”, explaining that her father had painstakingly restored them “down to the nuts and bolts” over the summer, before they were pressed into festive service during the winter months. She added that replacing both the bikes and the damaged glass would cost around £10,000.
“We just can’t believe that someone could do something like this,” Hughes told The Telegraph. “We’ve been dressing up the window for Christmas for about six years now… lots of people usually tell us how much they love the displays, and this has ruined the fun for everyone.”
The business has since offered a £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible, while Staffordshire Police confirmed enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101.
As for future festive displays? Hughes says the family may now think twice — a sad outcome for a community tradition that was only ever meant to spread a bit of seasonal joy.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!