A motorbike which was stolen by two joyriders has been returned to it's precious owner after 28 hours apart

Andrew Williams of Weedon left his limited edition Honda Africa Twin bike unlocked in St Peter’s Square car park while visiting the town centre on Wednesday, October 19.

On his return, it is understood that a witness reportedly watched two men in helmets make a getaway on the bike through an alleyway.

Mr Williams said: “After the disbelief, anger and double-takes when I saw ‘she’ had gone, came random thoughts such as now I can’t ride Scandinavia next year.

“As it sank in, I felt some lucidity and I posted the information on biker pages on Facebook.

At around 6am the following morning, Mr Williams woke up to a Facebook notification, which alerted him that the bike had been coincidentally filmed the evening before on a local rider’s helmet camera, who was “chatted up by the thief” while waiting at a set of traffic lights.

Later on the same day, Mr Williams took it upon himself to track down the motorbike and used his car to drive to where the video was originally filmed.

He added: “Somehow I felt lucky, and the location felt likely. I drove around but started to feel bothered by all the places, lockups and back paths to hide in.

After being given a tip off by another fellow biker, Mr Williams followed his bike from Kettering to Kingsthorpe before finally tracking it down in Weston Favell on Thursday evening.

He added: “I backtracked, repeated my rounds and told the guys on the Northampton Bikers Community (NBC) page I was out looking... and then, down in a subway under a big roundabout I saw ‘her’.

“The bike disappeared up another tunnel but my adrenaline was now up. Then the calls on sightings started to come in fast and furious via Facebook, texts, and phone calls.

After eight hours of searching for the motorbike, Mr Williams gave up hope and headed home.

While Mr Williams was on his way to a bike safety training course later that evening he got a call that the bike had been seen, chased, and recovered by a NBC member.

Mr Williams told the Chronicle and Echo that he skipped his course to see the bike, who he refers to as a woman, because it had been moved from the field it was ditched in by the joyriders to a safe place.

He said: “When I saw her, I was truly surprised by the minimal damage to bodywork. At that point, the dark thoughts left and I was happy again, close to ecstatic.

“And so ended 28 hours of surprise, despondency, frustration, and emotions.

“Now she has to be repaired, but it could have been so much worse. Thanks, guys and girls of the Northampton Bikers Community - you’re the Best. We owe you.”

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