Midlothian pensioner warned 'you're not James Bond' as she hunts for stolen bike

Edinburgh Live

25-05-2025

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A Midlothian pensioner is now living in fear after a thief swiped a motorbike from her back garden.
Writer Jo Foster, who is originally from Poland but is staying in Bonnyrigg as she writes a memoir about travelling around Scotland on her bike with a tent, also hit out at Police Scotland for failing to respond to confirmed sightings of her bike.
The 68-year-old reported her sentimental Honda C90T (1999) stolen on May 5 2025. The alleged theft took place between midnight and 6am.
Determined to get her bike back, Jo shared information about the theft to local Facebook groups. Within hours locals had shared sightings of the alleged thief riding the stolen bike in Penicuik.
Members of the Facebook group, 'Stolen Motorbikes Edinburgh', rallied around Jo and organised regular searches, working together to try to find her stolen vehicle. Something she said she is eternally grateful for.
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But despite several reports being made to police, Jo claimed they did not send officers out, and she was met with a patronising response. One sighting she claimed was reported to police, spotted the alleged thief riding the bike past a local police station.
'It really floored me, the whole experience made me feel horrible,' Jo said. 'Somebody knocks on my door and I'm scared, outside I'm looking around as I feel I was targeted.
'I have a lot of anxiety, it has been awful. It was a terrible shock but the worst thing was dealing with the police, they were hopeless.
'At around 5pm on the day of the theft there was a reported sighting in Penicuik, the bike was observed for one hour in this one area, close to the police station but no police came. I called 999 and was told 'we are not sending anyone yet because you reported your bike stolen this morning.'
'So I decided to deal with it myself, I grabbed my riding gear and my helmet, and got a family member to drive me to Penicuk to retrieve my bike. We drove around the area until dark when my family member told me 'you're not James Bond.'
'They were worried I was dealing with an organised gang and I could be stabbed and killed. Sadly I returned home with nothing.'
Jo went on to claim her bike was spotted 15 separate times on May 8 by members of 'Stolen Motorbikes Edinburgh' as well as by locals in Bonnyrigg.
'Locals recognised the thief and some called 999 with others calling 101 to report him,' she said. 'I called 999 and also waited 30 minutes for 101 to answer to report the sighting.
'Police said since I did not know each individual person who reported it, there was no way I knew it was a genuine report. They then started asking how I knew it was my bike and started saying 'there are many red and white bikes on the road, it doesn't mean it was yours.'
'They said again this is not an emergency. We can't go door to door as we don't have enough officers to look for it.'
'I was told the only way they would send someone out is if they had the full address of where the bike was being kept. I asked if it was up to an almost 70-year-old crime victim to confront a criminal to locate her bike?
'Later that day they said they would patrol around the man's house, so he was clearly known to them. But they never got back to me.'
A day later Jo said another member of the public saw the rider on her bike and was parked up locally outside of a pub. She claimed photos were also provided but she ran into problems again were reporting her stolen vehicle.
'I was told by 101 to call 999 if there were any sightings,' she said. 'When a local contacted me about seeing the man, I called 999 only to be told 'this is not a life emergency, we have other priorities, call 101.'
'I screamed on the phone and told them I couldn't care less about their priorities and my bike was a priority as they had all of these sightings over the past five days and did nothing.
'They eventually requested the photos and details and said they would attend. About two hours later - an email arrived: 'We have completed the search of the area, and there was no sign of your motorcycle.'
'Despite having a heart condition and warnings about the dangers, I walked for miles, looking for my bike.'
Jo was devastated she was unable to secure her bike but she praised the volunteers from the 'Edinburgh Stolen Motorbikes' group for dedicating hours of their time searching for her vehicle.
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'I'm very grateful for these people because it made me feel that somebody genuinely cared about me and my ordeal,' she said. 'It would have been so much worse without their support, frequent phone calls and understanding.
'I will be eternally grateful to them and to the members of the public who went out of their way to show kindness to a lone visitor to Scotland. This isolated incident will never alter the way I feel about Scotland and her wonderful people.
'Over the years, I have travelled thousands of miles on my motorbike in Scotland and have encountered nothing but friendliness, a willingness to offer help, and kindness.'
Jo originally bought her bike 13 years ago after failing a pilot's medical test. She travelled the length of Scotland camping and gathering stories for her travel memoir.
But sadly 11 days after her sentimental bike was stolen, police told her the case was closed.
Police Scotland have been approached for comment.