Scooterotica

Are there any threads running on this, any updates re the people that nicked it? It's frightening how quickly this was stripped down, parts primed and offered for sale... Well pleased he got it back..

Timbo wrote:Are there any threads running on this, any updates re the people that nicked it? It's frightening how quickly this was stripped down, parts primed and offered for sale... Well pleased he got it back..

There was something running on lcgb fourm

Facebook is probably the most instant up to date info.

There was stuff on SULK, ScooterLab.uk

An 82-year-old scooter fanatic whose vintage Lambretta was stolen feared he had seen the last of the beloved two-wheeler he had ridden for half of his life.

But Marshall Swonnell, of Carshalton, has since been reunited with his trusty steed – or at least most of it - after parts of the motorcycle began to arrive in the post.

Since the theft from outside his house in Stoneleigh Road on Monday last week, the pensioner’s scooter-loving friends tracked down the bike – which was being flogged in parts on Facebook.



Mr Swonnell, known as "Chuckles the Legend" by pals for his sense of humour, hopes to have his ride fully restored in time for a Lambretta rally in Germany this summer.

He said: “I was completely devastated when I saw it had gone. It would have meant I wouldn’t be able to attend the Lambretta meet-up in June.

“But I’m so grateful to my friends for sending the parts back to me. The villain who pinched it was never going to get away with it.”

The retired engineer, a member of the Lambretta and Vespa Clubs of Great Britain and the London Lambretta Club, left the scooter chained and padlocked on his drive on the night it was stolen.

Following the theft, his determined friends searched social media for reference to the distinctive blue-and-red bike, which the pensioner bought brand new for £189 in 1961.

Their research led them on a trail to the south coast and then to an alleyway in Penge, Bromley, where most of the scooter was found.

Mr Swonnell, who repairs lawnmowers in his spare time, has laid out the parts of the bike in his front room ready to restore it them to working order.

He believes he can find replacements for the handlebar controls – the only parts still missing - in time for June’s rally.

He said: “Had it not been for my many friends helping me and social and don't expect I would have seen the scooter again. I am very grateful for all the help I have received.”

Mr Swonnell, who is listed in the Veteran Vespa Club Hall of Fame, has clocked up more than 100,000 miles riding his scooter across Europe, including on rallies in Austria and Switzerland in the last two years.

No arrests have been made in relation to the theft.

If you have any information that might help the investigation, you can contact police station on 101, quoting reference number 4002650/16, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Some detail missing from that account Tim - I assume it's a cut and paste from a press release?

Sutton Guardian or some such

DigDug wrote:Some detail missing from that account Tim - I assume it's a cut and paste from a press release?

Copied everything that was there.....what's missing.....

Timbo wrote:

DigDug wrote:Some detail missing from that account Tim - I assume it's a cut and paste from a press release?

Copied everything that was there.....what's missing.....

The truth basically Tim.......

Oh yes, which is why I asked the question. Someone knows who did it....