A round-the-world motorcyclist has had his wheels and his equipment and possessions stolen in Nottingham, after having already travelled through 17 countries on his way from Mumbai to Cape Town via London. The Telegraph has the story:

Yogesh Alekari, who was 14,912 miles into his motorbike journey from Mumbai to Cape Town via London, said he was “heartbroken” after the theft of his KTM 390 Adventure motorbike.

The 33 year-old from India has blamed police for failing to keep the UK’s streets safe after he locked his bike up at Wollaton Park in Nottingham last Thursday, adding that he felt safer in Mumbai.

“UK police failed to control theft crimes in this country. India is the safest place to travel. We never ever lock our wheels in India, that’s the success of our police system,” Mr Alekari posted on Instagram on Monday.

Video footage captured by a visitor to the park showed his motorcycle being ridden away, flanked by two moped scooters.

Mr Alekari has ridden his bike through Nepal, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Finland and Norway without incident before his bike was stolen in the UK.

Not only did Alekari lose his bike, but he also lost his spare phone, passport, laptop and cameras. With his trip now on hold until (and if) he recovers the bike, he was staggered by the police’s total indifference:

The blogger, who has been documenting his epic journey on his website and social media, said he called the police shortly after his bike was stolen.

But he was told officers were unable to attend the park, which is run by Nottingham City Council.

“I called the police and it seemed so strange that they just sent me a crime number,” he told the BBC. “I was told they would call me back, and I waited in the park, but they never did.”

This will be of interest to Daily Sceptic readers avidly following the scandalous arrest and intimidation of comedy writer and activist Graham Linehan by five police officers at Heathrow for making gender-critical tweets. Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting have weighed in to criticise the police, Streeting even calling for free speech laws to change. Starmer “told police to concentrate on tackling serious crime”.

Different location, different police force, and different circumstances, but a mark of how distanced the police are from their purpose. The Heathrow force overstepped the mark by a ludicrous margin. Conversely, Nottingham’s Keystone Kops have barely budged from their canteen:

Sgt Daniel Sheasby defended the police’s action, saying that although officers had been conducting “local inquiries”, they had so far been unable to locate the bike.

“We completely appreciate how much upset this will have caused to the bike owner, but want to assure him the police are taking this seriously and are doing everything we can to try and return this property to him,” he said.

“We ask anyone who was at Wollaton Park around that time and spotted anything suspicious to please report it to us.”

“Taking this seriously.” That’s alright then.

Worth reading in full.