He piled up more than 500 stolen bicycles in his garden

For years, the neighbors of this property located not far from Oxford in England, wondered about the pile of bicycles which did not stop growing next to their home. Exasperated, one of them ended up calling the police, reports the English press. The police were able to confirm his suspicions: the satellite images showed a mountain of two wheels, visible with Google Earth!

Satellite mapping to the aid of the investigation

It was after using BirdsEye, a satellite mapping software, that the police decided to intervene. Result: a record seizure of 500 bicycles, piled up in the backyard on top of each other. A 54-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and receiving. This is not the first time that he has been caught red-handed.

Already in 2017, the police had heard it when its “collection” reached the trifle of 167 bikes. But he was released, free to continue his small business during the five years that followed… According to the man’s confidences, he stored the bicycles in his garden before reselling them in Africa, where the needs are immense, which causes a thriving black market.

Is YOUR bike in here? Neighbor from hell is arrested after 500 ‘stolen’ BIKES are discovered in his back garden in pile so big that it is visible from Google Earth
via https://t.co/xJz3oVK9fD https://t.co/m9So34JFqt

— News Wagg (@fmdiscr) March 23, 2022

Neighbors explained that the bikes were coming “ by vans at any time of day or night. Noise pollution to which was added the presence of rats, which ended up pushing the neighbor to call the police. Now the question is what to do with all these bikes. Thames Valley, the local police chief, explains that his teams are doing their best to find the owners, but it looks long and complicated.