Portsmouth forklift driver left 'fuming' but thankful after motorbike in memory of his nan was returned after being stolen and damaged

Mark Pickersgill, 48, found out his moped was taken when his girlfriend, Annie Ward, told him over the phone on Thursday evening.

One of his neighbours captured two hooded youths taking the bike in Pitcroft Road, North End, at roughly 6.20pm.

This left the forklift driver raging.

He told The News: ‘‘It’s a bit worse for wear, I found out the bike couldn’t be hotwired, and that was the main reason why it was recovered.

‘I was absolutely fuming when I found out.

‘I was ready to do some damage to these nippers, but the guys at work and my girlfriend calmed me down.’

Mr Pickersgill, who served for more than 10 years as a private in the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, walked down the street that night hoping to find his bike.

Thankfully, after an unsuccessful search, police officers returned his beloved moped on Friday at 10am – having found it abandoned in an alleyway.

Mr Pickersgill said the ignition switch was damaged, the front was ripped off, and several wires were cut.

Its seat was also ripped apart.

The North End resident said most of the damage is repairable, and should covered on his insurance.

All that mattered to him was the side panel, a memorial to his Nan, Joan Fleet, was left untouched.

Trying to maintain his composure, Mr Pickersgill said: ‘My Nan died in 2020, and the money I got from her inheritance was used to buy the bike.

‘There is a message I put on there, Joan Fleet 1925-2020, as a memorial to my Nan.

‘I wasn’t worried about the bike, it was the panel I was more worried about that.

‘That is the sentimental value of the bike, and I wasn’t bothered about the damage.

‘The insurance can pay for that, it’s plastic and mental.

‘The side-panel was the bit I wanted, and as long I could keep it, that’s all that mattered to me.’

Mr Pickersgill added he is thankful for the police who returned his cherished possession.

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He said he was ‘hurt’ by the ‘brazenness’ of the thieves, but is looking to move on in a positive manner.

Police are continuing to investigate the crime.

A statement from Hampshire police said: ‘We were called at 9.48pm on Thursday, March 24, to a report that a moped had been stolen from outside of an address on Pitcroft Road.

‘Officers carrying out proactive patrols in the area today located the moped in an alleyway off of Seagrove Road and alerted the owner.

‘Enquiries into this incident are ongoing.

‘No arrests have been made at the current time.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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