Ian McAffrey: Stolen bikes returned to owners after prolific thief snared over Barnsley crime spree

A repeat thief is beginning a prison sentence, following a crime spree.

37-year-old Ian McAffrey was arrested and charged with burglary on April 17, 2024, following an incident which saw him a raid a shed in Dodworth, Barnsley, on March 25, 2024.

He pleaded guilty and was handed a four-month suspended sentence, but at the time of his arrest, officers found a pushbike in his car which they suspected was stolen. Officers were able to reunite the bike with its rightful owner following a successful social media appeal.

Just as police officers confirmed that the pushbike was stolen, another theft took place on April 25, 2024, this time of an e-bike worth £3,500. The bike had been fitted with a tracker which located it to McAffrey’s address.

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Officers were also able to recover this bike and return it to its owner, with McAffrey later arrested and charged with burglary and theft of a pedal cycle.

McAffrey, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to both offences and was sentenced to a total of six months in prison at Sheffield Magistrates' Court last Friday (3 May).

Speaking after McAffrey was jailed, Detective Sergeant David Baker said: “I am glad that McAffrey’s crimes have caught up with him and he has been jailed.

"Our officers were able to bring him to justice by pursuing a suspected theft following his initial arrest, and succeeded in seeing the stolen property returned to its original owners.”