A Deliveroo worker was reunited with his £3,000 electric bike less than an hour after it was stolen.
Officers in Nottingham city centre were flagged down by the rider after the e-bike was taken from outside McDonald’s, in Exchange Walk, on Saturday afternoon (4 February).
The officers invited the rider into their police van and they drove around the surrounding area in search of the bike.
Minutes later, they spotted it being ridden by a suspect in Meadows Way, The Meadows.
The officers activated their blue lights and sirens but the suspect escaped by riding off down an alleyway.
An extensive area search for about 20 minutes, both on foot and in police vehicles, found no sign of the suspect or e-bike.
Rather than give up, the officers decided to return to the area where the bike was stolen, which was close to a property linked to past criminal activity.
The officers knocked on the door and when the occupant opened it, they saw the stolen e-bike propped up in the hallway, enabling them to return it to the Deliveroo worker.
Sergeant Richard Tiernan, of the city centre neighbourhood policing team, said the victim was extremely relieved.
He said: “By doing all we could to find the e-bike, a very grateful victim was reunited with it 45 minutes after it was stolen.
“He had no insurance so would have been £3,000 out of pocket if we hadn’t found it for him.
“Two people were located inside the address but did not match the description we had obtained of the offender from CCTV, so we are continuing our inquiries to trace him.
“A special mention should go to PCSO Simon Morris as he was the officer who suggested searching the property, which led to this cracking result.”
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to call 101 quoting incident 23*73403.
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