'I return stolen motorbikes to their owners'

A motorcycle repair shop director who spends his spare time retrieving stolen bikes said he has found eight of them in the last five weeks, worth around £50,000.

Jamie Howell, from Clevedon Motorcycles in North Somerset, reports the stolen bikes to police and reunites them with their rightful owners for nothing in return.

"I know the feeling of having something taken away from you and thinking 'that's it, you're never seeing it again'," he said.

Avon and Somerset Police said motorcycle theft can have a "significant impact" on livelihoods and that it was prioritising reducing the crime.

Howell, who has been a victim of bike theft himself, said he spent time finding stolen bikes "purely to reunite people" with them.

Lewis Jeffries, who had his bike returned to him by Howell after it was stolen and dumped near Ashton Park and Ride last month, said his generosity was "incredible".

Jeffries' bike was stolen from outside his house after he went back inside for "10 seconds" to retrieve his helmet.

He said the incident left him feeling "lost" and like somebody had "taken [his] freedom".

He posted a plea on social media about his missing bike, but was reunited with it later that day thanks to Howell.

"I'd spent the whole day walking around trying to find it in the local area and I had it delivered back to me for free with no expectation of anything in return," Jeffries said.

"There's no one else really that goes around with the interests of other people at heart.

"Jamie goes around in his spare time recovering people's pride and joy for nothing and asks for nothing in return," he added.

Howell said his intentions were "purely to reunite people with their bikes".

"I get people saying it must be good for business, but I was doing this before I even owned the business.

"There is no gain," he added.

Tony Campbell from the Motorcycle Industry Association said riders needed to invest in quality security.

"Even something as simple as a cover often helps as it makes the theft of the machine much more inconvenient," he said.

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