A persistent motorcycle thief who fell into a bear pit trap has become the laughing stock of both social media and the police.

Matthew Myrie’s Suzuki Gladius had been the target of four theft attempts in less than a year – one of them in broad daylight.

He became so fed up with the situation that he decided the only thing left to do was stop the thieves in their tracks.

Matthew, from Barking, dug two giant 2.5m deep holes either side of his bike, where it is parked in his front garden.

From previous attempts to steal the bike he knew which route the thieves would take into his garden.

After digging the super-deep holes he covered each with a grass coloured sheet which couldn’t be seen in the dark.

Sure enough, at 3.35am on 31st August, there was the clear yell of someone falling into one of the pits.

Both Matthew and his son dashed out and caught the alleged thief as he struggled to climb out of the hole.

A second thief on a TMAX scooter managed to escape.

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On Facebook, Matthew told delighted mates, “Police officers laughed so much as they put him in the car, they were struggling to read him his rights.” he added, “Sprained the lad’s ankle too. Praise to them for the super quick response.”

As the message started to spread, the comments started to pour in and congratulate Matthew on his genius.

One poster suggested filling the pits with water and a piranha fish in case the thieves came back.

When B&B spoke to him we asked him if he had a message for the thieves. “It’s over when you decide. Until then, my and my shovel will keep digging.”

As he says on the original Facebook post, “I’m just trying to show these people that they cannot get away with it forever, and that people will stand up for their hard earned belongings.”

Amen to that.

Get yourself sorted:

If you don’t have room for a 2.5m bear pit, get up to speed on how else you can protect your bike.

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