Arrested for stealing my own bike, which wasn't mine!

[Grip Fast]

The horror story that Steve posted re insurance, reminded my of an amusing incident when I was a teenager, many decades ago. I had a BSA C15 for a couple of years, then sold it on and forgot all about it.

Many months later, a policeman came to the door and asked me if I owned a motorcycle and quoted a licence number to me. I denied all knowledge, but he said it had been dumped in someone's garden and traced to me. If I didn't get it moved in the next couple of days, I would be charged with dumping it. I asked him what I was supposed to do with the bike, and he said, "anything you like, it's your bike".

So I went to the premises on a housing estate and sure enough, my old C15, now a non-runner in someone's back garden. I was nervous about taking it, so put a letter through their letter box explaining the situation, and wheeled the bike home.

Nothing was heard for a few months and my dad told me to get rid of the bike. I sold it for spares to a friend of a friend. A few days later, a couple of policemen arrive at the door and ask me to accompany them to the station. They have my letter in hand as proof that I have taken away a motorcycle without the consent of the owner. They want to know what I have done with the bike because it doesn't belong to me and the rightful owner wants it back.

I told them I had sold it for spares to a friend of a friend, whom I didn't know. So, I had to get in touch with my mate and find the address of the guy who now had the bike. This poor guy was then told that he had to return the bike to the condition it was in before he stripped it for parts, or be done for receiving stolen goods. I kid you not.

He did reassemble the bike and all charges were dropped, and I was let off with a warning. When I asked the police officer at the warning lecture, what I should have done when told to move the bike in the first place, he said "that didn't happen. We wouldn't tell you to do that." I was a bit shocked at that. It meant they didn't believe a word of it. A hell of a criminal I'd make if I left a letter explaining who I was and where to find the goods at every crime scene.

A couple of months later, my friend (the middle man) advertised a car radio for sale in the local paper (unwanted competition prize - he didn't have a car). The next day, a couple of police arrived at his door with a search warrant to look for stolen goods. It all seemed like a laugh to us as youths, but his dad wasn't best pleased.

P.S. The bike had been delivered to the correct street number, but the wrong street by a local bike dealer. That's why it seemed to have been dumped in the first place.

[ned1]

You couldn't make that up if you tried