Police arrest pillow thief in Bedford - and seize stolen bike in the process

The Midland Road store alerted officers to the theft on Monday (January 27), and the force tracked down the offender on CCTV.

A PCSO asked a person – who was also a "regular shoplifter" – if he could borrow his bike. They said yes, and the PCSO rode off and tracked down the pillow thief.

Commenting on Facebook, the PCSO said: "I cycled to the location and spotted a bike laying on the floor outside an address and a figure holding a quantity of pillows, trying to offload his ill gotten gains.

"I jumped off my bike and detained the male – surprise surprise, it was one of our regular prolific offenders.

The male was arrested for theft. He has since been charged and appeared in court on Tuesday (January 28).

The PCSO then discovered that the bike he had borrowed had been stolen in the town centre on Sunday (January 26).

He added: "So a known thief, who I borrowed the bike from, has been riding a bike around that he has obtained from another known thief who was seen by CCTV to steal."

The "known thief" had even left a note on the officer’s car asking him to return the bike.

However, the bike was confiscated by the police who have put out an appeal for its rightful owner to collect it.