Rescuing an abandoned bike

[Lobsters]

Hello chaps, can I ask you a question?

Outside my flat their has been a bike locked against a post since at least the beginning of march this year. It's rear wheel is hopelessly buckled, I suspect by a car when it slid down the post and got sandwiched between the tyre and kerb. I've watched it deteriorate from being in decent nick to developing a miasma of rust. My concern is the eventually the council will take it away and throw it in the dump. Which would be a great shame.
I live in a university area and I imagine a scenario where a student has bought this from the local market where bikes like this can be had for twenty quid, has come back to find it damaged and concluded that it's cost of repair would be more that what they paid for it. I think the lock would have cost more.

I would like to rescue it from landfill and let it continue to live with a good owner. I live in a flat and already own four bikes, so it's not that I really need another one. But it does seem to be a worthwhile project rehabilitating it and getting it a new home. Like I said, if I wanted one I could pick one up at the market for twenty quid.

What should I do? How should I go about it. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I have attached a note asking the owner to contact me. Is that enough to wait a few weeks then free it?

Many thanks in advance

Here are some photos. The rust you can see has only developed in the time I've seen it sitting there.

 

[Globalti]

Yes. Leave another note and wait until all the students have naffed off home.

 

[Octet]

I think from a legal standpoint, the moment you take a set of bolt cutters to it, it'll be deemed as theft despite the good intentions and apparent lack of owner.

If I were you, I would either speak to the local plod, or write a letter to the council. With any luck, they shall treat it the same way they do with unclaimed lost and found (if not collected after X time, it is yours).

 

[Mugshot]

I have nothing to add except that miasma is a lovely word and should be heard more often.

 

[snorri]

Am I the only one who read the OP and thought of dog lovers who want to take home and care for all the dogs in dog "rescue" places?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Personally, the only thing I'd want to do is put it out of it's misery.

On a serious note what you've done is the only legal course of action open to you. It belongs to somebody no matter how long it's been there and any attempt to liberate it would be criminal damage (breaking the lock) and theft.

 

[Andy_R]

Personally, the only thing I'd want to do is put it out of it's misery.

On a serious note what you've done is the only legal course of action open to you. It belongs to somebody no matter how long it's been there and any attempt to liberate it would be criminal damage (breaking the lock) and theft.

which is exactly what the council does, without legal recourse.......mixed up old world isn't it........

 

[Accy cyclist]

I think there should be some sort of bicycle liberation front! There's a bike in a people carrier type motor that's been there for at least two years parked in someone's drive on one of my routes! The silver drop handlebars are visibly in the same place every time i pass, and the constant flat tyre on the car tells me that all is not well! This bike is suffering!

 

[steveindenmark]

If you take it then it is theft.

If you take it and leave a note in a plastic bag taped firmly on the post explaining what you have done and your contact details. It is LIBERATION.

If you decide to liberate it, tape the note to the post BEFORE you star cutting. It won't stop you being arrested but it could be mitigating circumstances.

If you liberate it and fix the back wheel do not expect to be compensated for it if the owner shows up. You have no right to ask for payment but you can keep the wheel providing you return the bike to the owner in the condition you found it..ie. with the buckled wheel back on.

My guess is that someone in the local area has lost their key and can't free the bike. But as soon as you free it and fix it they will turn up in the street to collect it from you.

The police or council cannot give you permission to remove the bike, it is not theirs. If they take it they have to keep it for a set period before disposing of it.

PS...I have liberated bikes in the past. If you are not acting dishonestly and feel OK about it, then you make the decision. We can't make it for you.

Steve

 

[Globalti]

Liberate it and leave a message informing that you've taken it to the Police. After a month they will give it back to you.

More likely it belonged to somebody who moved away or forgot where they left it. Some people have difficulty in keeping their lives running at all.

 

[Dogtrousers]

This thread may be of interest

 

[Dragonwight]

The frame number might be registered have you checked it? The council would just cut the lock off if they knew it was there as its illegally attached anyway. Maybe they would let you have it after they have jumped through their legal loopholes of notification etc. If its been there for months I would just have it as abandoned the chances of someone turning up for it are pretty remote.

 

[MontyVeda]

I think from a legal standpoint, the moment you take a set of bolt cutters to it, it'll be deemed as theft despite the good intentions and apparent lack of owner.

If I were you, I would either speak to the local plod, or write a letter to the council. With any luck, they shall treat it the same way they do with unclaimed lost and found (if not collected after X time, it is yours).

I mate of mine did this with a Marin frame that had been stripped of all its components and remained chained outside the library for some time.... A local bobby stood by whilst he took to the lock with a hacksaw.

 

[David Higson]

A few years back, we had a theft of a couple of computers from where I work. conversationally, I asked the attending police officer what was the police did with abandoned bikes that were chained to lamp posts etc. He gave me a look, a smile and then said "er.. as little as possible, unless someone reports it." It seems that there is a massive amount of form filling that the constable has to do (all in triplicate, y'know,) and it isn't really worth their while to waste valuable police time on them, especially in view of other, more serious crimes being an issue. There is, of course, an official policy, just as local authorities have "official" policies. As the current spending cuts begin to bite, I think that local authorities cut down their "patrol" service and just wait for people to report them. Every day for 8 months, I passed by a lovely old Carlton racing bike, converted to a fixed gear ride that had been left chained under a railway arch in Manchester. Gradually, it lost parts until one day a couple of weeks ago, someone broke the lock cable and took the now wheelless wonder away. I doubt it was the council "bike-catcher" as the remains of the lock were on the floor by the stand.
I suppose that technically it is an offence if you have to break the lock to remove the bike (or parts thereof) but it does seem a shame that these things eventually evolve into a rusty frame, bravely attached to a secure point until sawn off by some indifferent council worker and chucked into a landfill somewhere.

 

[raindog]

The cranks don't line up - one of them must be loose on the axle.