Six men arrested in motorbike theft operation

A family run business, Padgetts Motorcycles in Batley, was targeted by thieves and 20 new and vintage motorcycles were stolen at the beginning of the year.

On January 27, a stolen Yamaha 100 was abandoned and recovered on The Nook, Tingley and then on January 30 a QJ100 motorbike was recovered in the Belle Isle area of Leeds.

Two other motor-cross bikes were also recovered at an address in Morley.

On February 29, 21 officers from Kirklees District, Safer Roads and Neighbourhood teams carried out four search warrants at addresses in Tingley, Thorpe, Morley and Middleton.

Six men were arrested during the operation, including a 25-year-old from Tingley, 28-year-old from Thorpe, 61-year-old from Morley and men aged 20, 24 and 29 from Middleton.

All have been released on bail pending further enquiries.

DC Jim Calpin, from Kirklees CID, said: “Through our investigation into the thefts from Padgetts we have been able to recover a number of motorcycles, but our enquiries are still ongoing to obtain the rest of them for the owner. We are pleased that following successful lines of enquiry we have made six arrests over the past week.

“If anyone has any information about these thefts or the whereabouts of any of the stolen motorcycles, I would encourage them to contact myself via 101 quoting reference 13160004253, or contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”