Bungling bike thief jailed after leaving bag behind containing his ID
A bungling bicycle thief has been jailed after leaving a bag behind containing his wallet and driving licence.
Callum Tumilty, 25, was arrested last week after he was spotted trying to pinch the push bike in Newcastle city centre – just weeks after being released from prison for the same thing.
Northumbria Police officer Paul Lewins was on patrol in the area when he spotted Tumilty acting suspiciously. Tumilty dropped the bicycle when he noticed the officer and ran off.
But the quick-thinking PC decided to try and retrace the thief’s steps and soon came across a bag containing Tumilty’s ID along with a bolt cutter and some clothes which had been left by Newcastle Dental Hospital.
It did not take long for officers to track him down and he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to steal the bicycle.
He pleaded guilty to the offence at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Saturday and was jailed for 10 weeks.
The court heard Tumilty had only been out of prison for four weeks when he committed the offence after previously being arrested for stealing a bicycle in November.
Inspector Karen Madge, who leads the Newcastle city centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, said officers managed to reunite the bicycle with its owner.
She hailed the ‘fantastic piece of police work’ by the PC, ‘who acted on his instincts when he saw this suspect acting suspiciously with the bicycle’.
Insp Madge went on: ‘He used his knowledge of the city centre to try and re-trace the route taken by the man and that has led him straight to a bag containing the man’s ID.
‘What’s more is that we were also able to reunite the bicycle with its rightful owner who was extremely grateful as she used it to transport her two children to nursery every day.’
Police said they have launched a number of dedicated operations targeting bike thieves after a surge in offences during lockdown.
Free bike-marking events have also been held for NHS staff at the city’s Royal Victoria Infirmary after a number of them fell victim to the crimes.
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