Former motorbike thief reveals how he taunted victims on social media

The bikes were set on fire by the thieves after they had finished with them Credit: BBC Inside Out West/PA

A prolific former thief taunted his victims by posting pictures of their stolen motorbikes on social media.

The reformed ex-criminal said he and his friends posted selfies while wearing balaclavas in which they threatened they were “coming for your bikes”.

He would tear around Bristol on stolen bikes with his friends until they ran out of petrol and then set them ablaze.

According to police, 10 motorbikes are stolen every week in the city.

In a BBC Inside Out West documentary, the reformed thief explained why he went on his crime spree.

Ryan – the fake name he is given in the BBC programme to protect his identity – said he would hack off chains with bolt cutters and sometimes even used angle grinders to steal a motorbike.

He said it was the large, powerful bikes he looked out for the most.

“Bikes are so easy to steal,” he said. “Bigger bikes are even easier to steal. Two wires mostly.

“I did it for fun really. It was just a game for me.”

Explaining why his friends put their exploits on social media, he said: “It was about throwing it in people’s faces and saying ‘We can do what we want’.

“If I want a bike I’m going to take it and there’s nothing anyone else can do about it. And by putting it on Instagram, it was saying ‘F*** you’.

“We weren’t bothered about being seen – we wanted to be seen.”

The police finally caught up with Ryan when tracking devices attached to stolen motorbikes were traced to his home.

Ryan and his criminal friends would threaten bike owners in Bristol with alarming social media posts Credit: BBC Inside Out West/PA

But a prison sentence did little to deter him.

“I got 18 weeks. I did nine weeks and I was back out at it again,” he said.

Inspector Rob Cheeseman, who is leading Avon and Somerset Police’s investigation into Bristol vehicle theft, told the documentary the force is using social media to catch the thieves.

“We do a lot of work around building up our intelligence picture,” he said.

“We use the social media platforms where they brag and boast about their exploits and we use that to our advantage to make sure we are as up to date as possible in terms of who the offenders are.”

The documentary also follows the Bristol volunteers who have reunited 82 stolen bikes with their owners.

BBC Inside Out West will be aired on BBC One West at 7.30pm on Monday. It will be available on iPlayer immediately afterwards.