Cyclist tracks down £9,000 bicycle stolen from his Hertfordshire home

A bike which was stolen in a burglary in Baldock, in Hertfordshire has been miraculously located - in Poland!

The bike, which was used for triathlons and is worth around £9,000, was one of two specialist road bikes stolen from a property in Baldock at the end of August 2018.

Determined to find his beloved bike, owner Marc London trawled social media for similar bikes for sale and amazingly found what he believed to be his bike, for sale in a shop in Poland.

Marc London, pictured on his £9,000 bicycle along side Sgt Arkadiusz Matuszyn of the Polish police who managed to recover the high-tech machine after it was stolen in Hertfordshire and emerged in a store in Poznan, western Poland

Marc London, pictured on his £9,000 bicycle along side Sgt Arkadiusz Matuszyn of the Polish police who managed to recover the high-tech machine after it was stolen in Hertfordshire and emerged in a store in Poznan, western Poland

The bike was stolen from Baldock, Hertfordshire and tracked down to a shop in Poznan, Poland

The bike was stolen from Baldock, Hertfordshire and tracked down to a shop in Poznan, Poland

His suspicions were confirmed when the shop was subsequently raided by Polish Police who believed that stolen goods were being sold through the unit.

Mr Londonthen contacted Sergeant Al Clarke and the Polish police to see if the bike could be identified as his.

'This was a very long process,' explained Sgt Clarke. 'The language barrier was an issue and things moved slowly until the International Crime Coordination Centre became involved. They got in contact with prosecutors in Poland and finally the bike was identified as Marc's and released for collection.'

Mr London travelled to Poland at the end of April and after a three hour interview, his bike was finally handed over.

He added: 'I couldn't believe it when then said I could come and collect my bike as I was beginning to think it would never be returned.

Mr London and his wife Emily, right, flew to Poland in order to collect his bike from the police

Mr London and his wife Emily, right, flew to Poland in order to collect his bike from the police

Mr London had placed a tracking tile inside the frame of the bike which would sound an alarm if he used a special app on a smart phone. He set of the alarm in the Police station to prove he owned the bike as the thief had filed off the identification numbers

Mr London had placed a tracking tile inside the frame of the bike which would sound an alarm if he used a special app on a smart phone. He set of the alarm in the Police station to prove he owned the bike as the thief had filed off the identification numbers 

Mr London regularly uses his bicycle while competing in 'Iron Man' competitions

Mr London regularly uses his bicycle

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