A person looking to sell a motorcycle has become the victim of a potentially violent robbery, after having the bike taken from him by a gang of machete-wielding thieves after agreeing to meet the ‘buyer’.
The man was selling a Husqvarna dirt bike, and had agreed to meet somebody posing as a potential buyer in the Pershore area of the West Midlands. Birmingham Live reports that as the seller was unloading the bike from the trailer at the pre-agreed location, four people appeared wearing balaclavas who then proceeded to threaten him with machetes.
One of the gang then proceeded to take the bike and ride off on St Andrews Road, Pershore, Worcestershire. The incident took place on Sunday, January 21st.
It’s reported that West Mercia Police then responded to the crime, sending a “significant” number of officers to the area to search for a gold or brown coloured car that the other three assailants used to flee from the scene.
The news of the theft comes as illegal motorcycle usage in the UK is hitting the headlines after a spate of incidents up and down the country. With many of the bikes used in these illegal, and very often dangerous, rideouts later being found to be stolen, the police can only try and remove the offending bikes from the roads - but ultimately they’ll merely be replaced by another stolen bike a short time later.
An appeal on the West Mercia Police website reads:
"We are appealing for any information following an armed robbery in Pershore yesterday evening (Sunday 21 January). The robbery happened on St Andrews Road at around 5.30pm.
"The victim had arranged to meet someone to buy his Husqvarna SC250 [we think they mean FC 250] pit bike. While unloading the bike from his trailer one male and four people wearing balaclavas threatened him with machetes before one of them stole the bike. The other three fled the scene in a gold/brown coloured car, heading towards Pershore Abbey.
"We responded immediately with a significant number of officers including armed officers and specialist units from the roads policing team and our local patrols. An investigation is now underway, led by detectives and digital forensics officers."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Det Con Lewis Cleaves by email at lewis.cleaves@westmercia.police.uk or by calling 101 using extension 7742050.
