After two older males approached her 12-year-old son, Alfie, stealing his bike, Jemma Shaw of Cleethorpes managed to trick a thief into returning the BMX bike. She had spotted the bike on a Facebook sales group and contacted the thief, offering to buy the bike. When he turned up to deliver the BMX, she took video footage while she explained to him that he had stolen the bike from her home.

Shaw is now encouraging other parents to not be afraid of the thieves who are currently preying on youngsters in the area, intimidating them in order to steal their bicycles.

Thieves steal bicycle from 12-year-old

According to Shaw, two older males had approached Alfie and had apparently sat chatting with him for almost an hour before they made off with the boy’s BMX bike. His mother, Jemma went on a Facebook search and found her son’s bike on the Grimsby Swaps and Sales Facebook group. She then took things into her own hands, contacting the thief and saying she would buy the BMX for £100.

As reported by the BBC, it was the day after the theft when the thief turned up at Shaw’s home to deliver the stolen bike. Shaw caught their interaction on video when she asked the thief if it was his bike. She then asked where he got the bike from and how long he had owned it. The thief said it had owned the bike “for ages,” but then started to get nervous about saying where he had originally got the bike from.

Shaw went on to tell him that she knew he was the one who stole her son’s bike, to which the thief replied “OK” and quickly fled the scene. As he walked away, Jemma told him the video footage would be "all over Facebook," going on to call him an "evil b*stard." The video footage can be seen below.

‘Disgusting’ that thieves steal from children

ITV News quotes Shaw as saying she couldn’t believe her eyes when the thief arrived at her home, wheeling her son’s bike. She did admit that what she did could have been dangerous. However, she said they have a large dog in the home that keeps them safe. She went on to say that she wanted to show Alfie that he didn’t need to be scared of these thieves and that it is possible to stand up to them without any violence.

She wanted to show he could be strong in situations like this, but also keep peaceful, as violence is not the answer.

Jemma added that she feels it is disgusting that people like this approach a young child in a park, solely to steal their bicycle. She said it is getting horrible in her area and that it is full of what she termed “plastic gangsters.” Shaw said she hopes the thief has learned a lesson from his experience and will stop picking on young children to steal their bikes. She did admit that the thief did do one thing right. He reportedly fixed the brakes on the bike before trying to sell it to her.

While things went the right way for Shaw and her son, a spokesperson for the Humberside Police said they encourage people who have had property stolen to report it to police right away. He also said it is possible for people to register and insure their bicycles online.
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