My wife has had her motorbike stolen for the third time in two years. I went to where I suspected it would be to find two youths apparently trying to push it in a local beck. They ran away on my approach but were named by four young children playing nearby, along with the address of one of them.

I contacted the police but was told they could take no action as the identification "could not be made to stick" in court. I pointed out that the highly polished bike would doubtless provide fingerprints, which could be linked to the named youths. The policeman I contacted reluctantly agreed to this and promised that a fingerprint officer would visit the following day. At the time of writing no such visit has been made and in consequence my wife is unable to clean or use the bike. Possibly they see the offence as too trivial to pursue.

If these youths are not stopped now, one wonders if the police will find time to visit the bereaved after they have graduated to "joy-riding" in something more lethal.

J Smith,

Huntington Road, York.