IPSWICH: A motorcycle enthusiast is today making a desperate appeal for help after thieves stole his classic bike over the festive season.

Rob Dean, of Lattice Avenue in Ipswich, awoke to a nasty shock on Christmas Day as his partner Lin Algar noticed some of his tools strewn across the lawn and the shed door left wide open.

And it certainly wasn’t Father Christmas who had made his rounds – Rob’s prized 1956 Triumph Tiger Cub motorbike had been stolen despite being locked away in a large shed.

Rob, a quantity surveyor, is a member of the Copdock Classic Motorcycle Club committee, and has loved motorbikes since he was a teenager.

The 51-year-old said: “They had obviously scaled the side gate wall and undone the padlock on the shed door which had gone missing.

“There were power tools and all sorts of things in there, and the shed was turned upside down but there was only one thing missing and that was my bike.”

He added: “I was annoyed that somebody had trespassed onto our property – it’s an invasion of privacy. They have taken the bike and nothing else.

“I’ve been searching for it on the internet but I don’t think I will find it. I think they will have a lot of difficulty in selling it because everybody in the classic bike fraternity locally knows about it already.”

Rob had only owned the 200cc bike since the summer, when he paid more than �900 for it, and had not even been able to take it out on the road as it was not yet registered.

He has since moved his three other bikes, including a Harley Davidson and a Royal Enfield, to another site until he can secure them properly.

Anyone with information about the theft or the current whereabouts of the bike is asked to call Suffolk police on 01473 613500.

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