Quick-thinking staff at Cash Converters in Bedminster stop sale of stolen bike and reunite it with owner

A man was reunited with a bicycle he bought for a charity cycle ride thanks to the quick-thinking of staff at a pawn shop - and by posting an appeal online.

Didun Obilande thought his bike was gone forever after it was stolen outside Spicer & Cole on Welsh Back while he was at Workout gym on the morning of March 11 this year.

As the 30-year-old’s only mode of transport, worth just under £2,000, he was left ‘devastated and shocked’. It upset him even more given he bought it to take part in a cycle ride from Bristol to Paris in November in memory of a friend who had died.

As a result, Didun and his friends took to the social media platforms of Instagram, Twitter, Reddit and Facebook to spread the word of his stolen bicycle. From the traffic the received, he was advised by fellow amateur cyclists to post on the website www.stolen-bikes.co.uk.

This story is part of a week-long series of reports by BristolWorld on bike thefts in our city. To see them all, click here

Then, just days later staff in Cash Converters in East Street, Bedminster, were approached by a suspicious looking pair with his stolen bicycle.

When staff member Baz, who did not want to give his surname, was presented with it he knew instantly ‘it was worth a lot’ and with its ‘new and shiny appearance’, alarm bells instantly rang.

Putting it behind the counter, Baz and his team quickly went onto www.stolen-bikes.co.uk and noticed the same bicycle had been reported stolen the day before. And when more questions were asked, the pair who tried to sell the bike ran out of the shop.

The shop then got in contact with Didun and were able to reunite him with the bike. In return, Didun bought all the staff a crate of beers.

He said: ”I feel lucky. But I know not everyone is at all as lucky as I am - it is just fortunate I put it on the internet and the shop staff were quick to check.”

Shop manager Ian Scantlebury said staff always check the website www.stolen-bikes.co.uk if suspicions arise over a bicycle offered for sale.

He said: “We search the brand and model and we can see straight away if it has been stolen. We then take it behind the counter and ask more questions - that’s when the people who bring it in normally run out.”

Unfortunately, Didun’s story is not a common one. More than 1,500 bicycles were stolen in Bristol over the past 12 months - more than four a day - and most are never seen again by their owners.

As well as posting appeals on social media, Avon and Somerset Police urge people to get their bikes security marked and register them with Bike Register, a database which can be used to identify stolen bikes, and even reunited them with the owners.

Next month, officers will be holding events for people to register their bikes at Broadmead/Castle Park on April 11, College Green on April 12, The Downs, on April 13, Sainsbury’s at Gloucester Road on April 14 and Horfield Leisure Centre on April 16.

Tomorrow (March 25) we will report on how the cycling boom in Bristol, coupled with the high rate of thefts, has impacted bicycle businesses in the city.