Watch: Sneaky Tranent motorbike thieves caught on camera
and live on Freeview channel 276
Footage shows the hooded pair snap the steering locks of the £3,000 bikes in the early hours before wheeling them off in Tranent.
Police are investigating while owner Morton Ramage now fears his beloved bikes are being raced on Lothian roads by reckless joyriders.
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Hide Ad“I thought it was a joke at first and my girlfriend did as well – I just thought where are my bikes? ” said Mr Ramage.
But then a neighbour confirmed footage caught on his CCTV camera shows the moment shortly after 1am on Monday when two hooded thieves pounce.
“You can see them walking in,” said Mr Ramage, 36. “They go straight to the bikes.
“They break the steering lock of one and then push it off behind the cars. Then they come back for the other one. I just wanted to go out and find them.”
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Hide AdThe professional dog-walker only took his “pride and joy” Triumph around to his girlfriend Catherine Wilson’s flat in Tranent to get the Honda started.
“The little bike has been having problems so I took the other bike along to jump it,” he said.
Both bikes were parked in a visitors’ space out of view from the main road and blocked in by a car on Sunday night.
“They’re youngsters doing it. Even if it’s adults doing it, they blame the youngsters so they don’t get caught,” he added.
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Hide Ad“There’s no incentive to stop doing it. If a child gets caught on a motorbike, the parents should get done.
“If they’re underage, they know the police can’t do anything about them.”
Mr Ramage now fears someone could be seriously injured or killed as the 160mph Triumph and Honda are raced on the Capital’s roads.
He has been messaged already by one driver who thought he spotted them “flying” through Little France at 5pm on Tuesday.
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Hide Ad“I hope they don’t hit some innocent people. The Triumph is a powerful bike and can easily do 130 or 140mph in a 30mph zone.
And the loss of his 955cc orange £2,000 Triumph Sprint RS and £1,000 125cc red and black Honda CVR have hit the avid biker hard.
“It’s a way of life for me. I’m just so angry because I love my bikes,” said Mr Morton, who took Catherine on a summer tour up north on the Triumph.
“I don’t even want the bikes back because they’ll be destroyed. They’re insured but you don’t get the money back.
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Hide Ad“You’re the victim because you’ve had your bikes stolen and then you get done on the insurance and you’ve done nothing wrong.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police in East Lothian are investigating the theft of two motorbikes in the Coal Neuk Court area of Tranent.
“The incident was reported around 9pm on Tuesday 13th and inquiries are ongoing.”
Anyone with information can contact police on 101.