A TORONTO man said his two sons had been devastated by the alleged theft of $45,000 worth of motorbikes, a mountain bike, tools and accessories from their home on Brighton Avenue.
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Rod Griffis said thieves broke into his garage on the morning of Monday, November 19.
Mr Griffis had returned home after taking his sons to school when he realised something was wrong.
“I noticed the dog was beside himself in the backyard so I went around to calm him down,” Mr Griffis said.
“When I walked back around to the front of the house I noticed some damage to the garage door.
“When I opened it I saw the garage was pretty much trashed and three of our motorbikes, our motorbike gear, tools and mountain bike had been cleaned out.”
Lake Macquarie police were notified.
Mr Griffis said three Husqvarna dirt bikes were stolen: an FE 501 which Mr Griffis rode, a TE 300 which belonged to his 16-year-old son, and a TC 85 which was ridden by his 11-year-old son.
“The smallest bike wasn’t even a week old,” Mr Griffis said.
Commander of Lake Macquarie Police District, Superintendent Danny Sullivan, said police attended the house and began their investigation.
He said a Norco Fluid mountain bike, five motorbike helmets, a set of racing goggles, three pairs of motorbike boots, three shirts and pants sets, a pair of bolt cutters, and a carton of Wild Turkey cans were also reported stolen.
Making news:
Police were told a neighbour saw two males wearing motorbike racing safety equipment riding in a dangerous manner south on Brighton Avenue, towards Kilaben Bay, about 11.50am.
“Police are particularly interested if anyone in the area has CCTV or dashcam footage at the time of the alleged incident,” Superintendent Sullivan said.
Mr Griffis said he was told the remainder of the missing gear was allegedly placed in the back of a white ute and driven away.
He said the total financial loss could be around $45,000.
But there was another impact.
“It has absolutely devastated me to see the state that this has left my two boys in,” he said.
“Everything that my boys live for, and they love – which is their motorbikes – is now gone. And there’s been someone in our house. That’s what’s heart breaking.”
The garage door has since been repaired, and security boosted at the house.
Mr Griffis said he was telling his story in the hope that locals would be vigilant about their home security and insurance.
Mr Griffis said since he posted news of the break-in on Facebook, he had been made aware of a spate of recent thefts from Wamberal to Merewether.
“It’s been ridiculous… from tradies who have lost full trailers of tools, to people who have lost motorbikes. As recently as yesterday [Tuesday], five motorbikes were stolen out of a shed in the middle of the day at Wamberal,” he said.
Mr Griffis said he was now waiting to have his insurance claim processed, and to see what was covered, and what wasn’t.
“Then we’ll try to save up and start all over again,” he said.
Superintendent Sullivan said anyone with information about the incident was urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or provide information online at nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
“Information is treated in strict confidence,” he said.
“The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.”
