Machete-wielding thug stole my son's bike
A teenage boy had his brand new bike stolen by a thug armed with a machete.
The robber threatened to set his dog on Callum if he didn't hand over the bike, and then pulled out the weapon on the terrified youngster.
After sharing a post on social media, Callum's dad was approached by LiveLikeRalph, a local community interest company, who have saved the day.
The robber threatened to set his dog on Callum if he didn't hand over the bike, and then pulled out the weapon on the terrified youngster.
After sharing a post on social media, Callum's dad was approached by LiveLikeRalph, a local community interest company, who have saved the day.
Transcript
00:00 Called me crying on the phone, said his bike took off him.
00:05 They threatened him with a dog, to set the dog on him.
00:07 He said give me your bike or I'll set the dog on you.
00:10 Callum said it's not going to happen.
00:12 But he had his coat open and he had the big machete.
00:16 He described the handle and everything and he reached for it.
00:20 Callum says just take the bike.
00:23 He's had a tough year, there's been a lot of family stuff.
00:27 But I thought I'll just treat him to this.
00:31 And I got him the bike and I was just made up with it.
00:35 I loved it. He wanted to put it in his bedroom instead of garage.
00:38 Because it will get dusty in the garage.
00:40 So to hear him crying on the phone that it had been took off him,
00:45 it affected me.
00:48 The fact that some grown man had just come up and took it at knife point from him.
00:53 Just around the corner there on Seasiders Way.
00:55 It's just at the side of the building. It's all lit up, it's camera'd up.
00:59 He put a cone down and he used to practice around the cone and stuff.
01:03 He was just packing up, ready to come home.
01:06 And that's where the guy turned up.
01:08 Just come round the corner, out of nowhere.
01:11 I was sharing it on social media.
01:14 Neil got in touch with me, explaining they've liked Ralph, what they do.
01:19 And what had happened to his son unfortunately and everything.
01:22 And they said, "We're willing to replace his bike."
01:27 Well, I was speechless.
01:30 It got to me. We've never had anything like that.
01:34 These guys are absolutely amazing at what they do.
01:37 It must have been awful for Callum.
01:40 His bike had been taken in awful circumstances.
01:46 We just thought it was terrible.
01:48 I spoke to my co-trustees at Live Like Ralph.
01:52 We said, "Look, if we can do something to help here,
01:56 it would be good if we could replace his bike and put a smile back on his face."
02:00 So, tell me why you're here in Halfords today then.
02:03 Neil, he said, "Look, I'll take you to Halfords at weekend and let him pick a bike."
02:10 Which, yeah, we're another shop realer.
02:14 Callum has chosen a bike not dissimilar to the one that he had,
02:18 that he'd only had a couple of months.
02:20 And we have paid for a new bike for him and every credit to Halfords.
02:27 They gave us a generous discount as well.
02:29 But Live Like Ralph have replaced his bike.
02:31 It'll be ready for him in a couple of days.
02:33 And he'll be out and running again with insurance this time.
02:37 So, yeah, we're very pleased that we can help him out.
02:41 And we sincerely hope that the horrible person that did this crime will be caught as well.
02:48 I'm a great believer in karma.
02:50 You know, if you do good, good things will happen to you.
02:53 But equally, if you do bad and treat your fellow human being the way Callum was treated,
02:59 things do come around again.
03:01 And I'm sure they will for this horrible person.
03:04 So, yeah, you know, and I would encourage other people to do good
03:09 and maybe get involved in Live Like Ralph and support us as well.
03:12 If it weren't for these guys, then we'd still be, you know, saving up for a new bike for him.
03:19 It's his birthday in two weeks, so that would have probably been looking along them lines.