Omar at Parker’s Piece in Cambridge (Image: Warren Gunn) Group 28 Sign up to our free email newsletter to receive the latest breaking news and daily roundups Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up No thanks, close We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you.
We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. More info Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice Cambridge’s local bike vigilante, also known as “Bike Batman”, has been on a mission to return stolen bikes to their owners over the last couple of years.
In the process he’s gained praise from locals who, in a city like Cambridge, see and hear stories of bike theft all to often. Between his own good deeds, and the work of fellow ‘bike vigilante’s more than 400 bikes, and counting, have been recovered and returned to their rightful owners. Three years ago when Cambridgeshire Live reported on a man seemingly confronting bike thieves, he then confiscated the stolen bike.
That man was Omar Terywall. Omar shared the article on his profile and many friends got in touch to suggest he create his own Facebook page to help other cycle theft victims. The Facebook page “Stolen Bikes in Cambridge” has been described as “the biggest neighbourhood watch in the UK”.
To date the page has more than 11,500 members. Omar explained what he believed the group’s biggest successes to be. He said: “We have many success stories but one that comes to mind is where we led the police to a property in Cambridge where a bike fitted with a tracking device (Backpedal.
co). Get more Local news from CambridgeshireLive straight to your inbox for free HERE . Omar spoke candidly what could be done to reduce bike theft in the city (Image: Warren Gunn) “The tracker revealed a hidden compartment at the back of a garden shed leading to the discovery of a workshop and 6-7 high-end bikes – all zip tied and ready for export.
We worked with the owners of Backpedal who stayed close by and watched for four agonising days before the police visited during daylight hours. ” Omar was highly critical of the Police’s handling of bike theft, speaking about his group’s biggest failure, he said: “In my opinion our biggest failure is the inability to get police involved at crucial moments. The windows of opportunity are so narrow, it pains me when they’re missed.
“We have seen multiple informants tracking the same motorcycle over several days, noting its plate being changed, spotting it at various locations – only to be found torched. In some cases, some victims have given the exact address that a bike or motorbike has been kept but they didn’t act quickly enough. ” Omar said that he “constantly” received threats, and has considered stepping aside from the Stolen Bikes group many times.
However, he has said “many people contact him” and it’s “difficult to say no to people who need help”. Omar explained that it would help if those who often come across abandoned bikes posted the make and model and picture of the bike on social media to help locate the owner. He added: “We can easily double our success rate if the police were to simply share non sensitive information with us on bikes reported in.
This was discussed back in November 2021 and we are still no further with organising this. ” Omar would like police to regularly check the intelligence they are being sent as he believes it could “lead to more arrests. ” If you’d like to learn more about Omar and his group of bike-detectives you can do so on their Facebook page here.
Solving bike theft is not as straightforward a matter as it might first seem, however, and Cambridgeshire Police have agreed to take-us through their bike tagging, and bike theft protocol in the coming weeks so please stay tuned for that. READ NEXT: Cambridge landlord lowers rent on ‘hallway’ studio flat following backlash St Neots woman who is partner’s full-time carer credits local charity for helping turn her life around The ‘worst’ towns in Cambridgeshire according to the people who live there ‘I tried Cambridge’s ‘best restaurant’ which transports you straight to the Sahara’ Refurbishment plans for historic Cambridge village pub get green light Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
Follow CambridgeLive Facebook Twitter Comment More On Cambridge Parkers Piece People Cycling IYA Alert County.
From: cambridgenews
URL: https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/real-life/local-legends-cambridges-bike-batman-25574748