Motorbike owners at the Biker’s Cove café in South Queensferry have said that they no longer trust that their vehicles will be safe in Edinburgh.
They added that they feel as though law enforcement is toothless at tackling the issue and that it is only a matter of time before a vigilante could take matters into their own hands. Couple Anna Kowalska, 44, and Maciek Dabrowski, 38, say they left the city after a period of being continuously targeted by thieves.
The pair, who now live in East Calder, say that when they lived at Calder Grove in Wester Hailes around eight years ago, their bikes would be targeted every other week. Maciek says that he would regularly wake up to find that their bike covers had been tampered with and on one occasion witnessed a group targeting his bikes after returning home early from a night shift.
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Thankfully neighbours would help them to keep their vehicles safe. After relocating to West Lothian, the duo, who own six bikes between them, found that their insurance almost halved and they felt an increased sense of security.
But unfortunately last September, Anna, who works as a chef in Newbridge, saw her bike stolen from private grounds outside of a school that she worked at. She said that the ordeal left her feeling afraid and angry.
On the theft, she said: “Last year my bike was stolen in September. It was taken from outside of my work in Newbridge.
“The thief had accessed it by coming through the woods. They approached it with their helmet on, managed to disconnect the screamer alarm and drove away with it at around 6:30pm.
“They had to have known the security measures I had taken to protect my bike as they knew exactly how to disable it. It gave me panic attacks for weeks afterwards knowing that someone had been watching me.
“The bike was very recognisable as it had a number of custom parts attached to it. They must have used specialist tools that did not make a noise as there was a nearby groundskeeper that never noticed them.
“I reported it to the police but it was found two months later by someone outside of Ratho Golf Club. It was under a cover and had been chained.
“The police contacted me to ask if I recognised the bike but it was almost unrecognisable bar the custom controls and pegs. The thieves had completely ripped off all the custom parts and it was absolutely trashed.
“They had replaced the reg plate with another stolen registration and turned an E into an F using black tape. They had also painted over the original red colour to make it black.
“After this happened I had depression for two weeks. We put all the necessary devices on our garage at home as we did not know how long they had been watching me.”
Anna and Maciek said that they had put the bike up for sale two weeks prior to it being stolen and that the insurance company would only give them £300. They had been selling it for £2,000.
Maciek added that he feels as though tougher enforcement must come into play before a young thief targets the wrong owner and they take matters into their own hands. He says that tougher laws must be brought forward to deter young people from targeting bike owners.
Maciek, who is also vice president of the biker group, Scotland Liberated, said: “One bike could be stolen from the wrong person. Someone who is a bit emotionally unstable and with them making a split second decision it could end very badly.
“Someone who has had their pride and joy stolen might target the wrong young kids in balaclavas and take matters into their own hands as a vigilante. There are a lot of people who are extremely angry.
“I do have sympathy for the police as it feels like their hands are tied but they have to be held accountable. We are seeing bikes being stolen everyday and their owners appealing for help on Facebook.
“A lot of the time the kids are underage so there isn’t any law that can really penalise them. But at the moment there is absolutely no confidence that this is being tackled.
“The problem is becoming worse and worse. We have friends from abroad who will not visit Edinburgh after hearing how bad it has become.”
The couple were joined in their condemnation of the rise in thefts by other bikers at the café. Jay Sihota, 53, a bike enthusiast from Linlithgow, says that he will under no circumstances travel by bike into the city centre.
He elaborated: “I would never take my bike into Edinburgh due to the theft problem. Wherever I go into Edinburgh I’m rarely able to park my bike somewhere that I can see it.
“That just makes it a no go. You hear of vans coming along and just lifting the whole bike and them being gone in a matter of seconds.
“Even if I did get it back, it would probably already have been stripped for parts and the insurance wouldn’t pay out the value that it was worth. No one seems interested in tackling the issue.
“It has become worse as the cost of living crisis has deepened. When folks' money goes down, crime goes up.
“I think us bikers are seen as a shady bunch by the police and this means we do not get as much support as we should. It is seen as low level crime whereas the retribution a biker would dish out to a thief would get way more attention than the initial crime itself.
“We are slightly marginalised. Police generally see bikers as less than your average citizen so they do not pay attention to the crimes.
“Police need to ensure there are consequences for people stealing bikes that make them think twice. If they want the confidence of the biker community then they need to better engage with us.”
Andy Wood, 58, who owns Skullduggery, an alternative novelty shop adjacent to the Biker’s Cove, says that he speaks with bikers every week about the worsening problem. He says that tourists have been completely put off from staying in the capital and also shared some harrowing stories that others have shared with him.
The local business owner, who also owns two bikes, said: “We get a lot of bikers down here on the weekend. It can be really busy.
“Recently I spoke to a German tour guide who had a group of six visiting Edinburgh and Scotland. They had parked outside of a hotel and locked their bikes up on a main road but woke up to find four out of six of the bikes had been stolen.
“It seems like tour groups coming from the continent, that ride the adventure style bikes, are being heavily targeted. But to be honest you see thefts at least three to four times a week on relevant Facebook pages.
“But the problem is not just the thefts. It is also the riders being threatened and targeted.
“Recently a biking instructor who was out with a learner was almost thrown off his bike by youths on these electric bikes. You hear stories of people being threatened with tools all the time.
“We had a German journalist visit us recently and I warned her to be extra vigilant when in Edinburgh as bike thefts are rife at the moment. Two days after she sent me a message saying her bike had been stolen.
“Tourists come to Scotland as it is a dream destination with the NC500 and the scenery. The ideal starting or ending point is Edinburgh due to how beautiful the city is but that will change if something is not done.
“Police say they are tackling the issue but all that is happening is the youngsters get a slap on the wrists and are out doing the same thing that night. Legislation has to come in to help police do their job before someone ends up seriously hurt.
“Motorbike owners can put every last penny into their vehicles. It is their pride and joy.”
Police Scotland were contacted for comment.
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