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A vigilante has revealed how he reunites hundreds of stolen bikes to their rightful owners as thieves try to sell them online.
Omar Terrywall has saved more than 500 bikes since 2019 by drawing on the help of 11,600 members in the Facebook group, Stolen Bikes in Cambridge.
When people get in touch to explain their bike is stolen, a picture of it is posted on the group and members then scour the internet to see if it is being sold on places such as Gumtree, eBay, Facebook or Marketplace.
'This is where Cambridge just comes alive', Mr Terrywall explained to the BBC.
'We'll pose as a buyer, we'll arrange to meet up with that seller, then we'll confront that seller. More often than not, they do actually hand that bike back. It's an amazing feeling, it really is.'
Has YOUR bike been stolen - or tracked down and returned? Email [email protected]
Pictured: Omar Terrywall who has reunited hundreds of bikes with their owners using the Facebook group Stolen Bikes in Cambridge
Mr Terrywall can be seen confronting a thief who is using a stolen bike
Discussing how he first got involved with the group, Mr Terrywall added: 'We don't like bad people getting away with bad things.
'We've recovered in excess of 500 bikes now, which is an astonishing amount.'
The vigilante also explained how the group feels it is their duty to step up and help the police as bike theft is viewed as a lower priority compared to other types of crimes.
He said: 'If you've just had a £500 bike stolen and there's a domestic violence case going on over there, the police aren't going to deal with your piece of metal I'm afraid.
'I'm not saying that we should form vigilante groups here, there and everywhere, but try and assist the police.
'This is where we step up and try and help out.'
Titus Halliwell, the police's national lead for cycling crime, discussed the dangers involved with trying to regain a stolen bike.
'I can totally understand if your precious bike is stolen and you see it for sale online, you want to recover it,' he told the BBC.
'[But] you don't know who you're dealing with and you don't know how they're going to react.'
In the video you can see this man who was selling the bike online actually return it after he learns it was stolen
Mr Terrywall also confronts this person after pretending to be a buyer
Stolen Bikes in Cambridge's official Facebook statement on their page reads: 'This page was set up to re-unite owners of stolen property or goods in Cambridge AND help track down stolen bikes/goods.
'At a time where Police resources are scarce, let's use the knowledge and power of community intelligence to battle the playing fields.
'Bike thefts in particular, are one of biggest crimes in Cambridge and thieves operate in the same areas time and time again. There are far too many thieves, mainly drug addicts, who brazenly steal other peoples belongings and seemingly, get away with it - quite often in broad daylight too.
'A slap on the wrist is no deterrant for people like them. If you have video or photographic evidence of someone clearly stealing someone elses property, we will review it and then post it up here in the hope that the Cambridge community will identify them.
'These thieves have already lost all dignity and they know full well that the police can only do so much - so let's work together to make it impossible for them to walk our streets so freely.'
