A MOTORCYCLIST involved in a crash with a lorry returned home to find his bike had been swiped from under the noses of police at the scene. Golders Green shopkeeper Herzel Halawi has hit out at bumbling officers who lost his bike while he was

Katie Davies

A MOTORCYCLIST involved in a crash with a lorry returned home to find his bike had been swiped from under the noses of police at the scene.

Golders Green shopkeeper Herzel Halawi has hit out at bumbling officers who lost his bike while he was being rushed to hospital.

In the litany of errors that followed he had to wait for investigating officers to get back from five days' leave, just to confirm the theft.

And to make matters worse, his local police force then lost the official record of the bike being stolen.

Mr Halawi, 53, who has four siblings who work for the police, has been left perplexed by the mistakes after his accident on the A406 on January 23.

He said: "I have had to make 30 to 40 phone calls to sort this out. It is a joke - it is so stupid. I told the police my RAC membership number immediately and asked them to phone them so they could take the bike back to my home.

"I thought it would be here when I got back but it wasn't. When I called up no one knew what was going on.

"It was so incompetent. If they were a private company they would have gone bankrupt with the way they work."

Last Thursday, the police finally confirmed the bike had been stolen because although Mr Halawi, who runs Hilton Cameras on Golders Green Road, reported it missing, his local station in Gants Hill then lost the file.

The father-of-two said: "An officer told me that they had their computers updated and the file was probably lost. It has been mistake after mistake after mistake."

Mr Halawi, who has been biking for 33 years, was knocked down in front of a lorry when a bus pulled into his lane without indicating. Amazingly, his only injuries were torn muscles in his leg and a damaged shoulder.

The bus company is only liable for his physical condition and clothing damage and Mr Halawi's own insurance will now have to pay out for the missing £7,500 vehicle.

"I am in pain and then I have to deal with this - it is so stressful," said Mr Halawi.

"You have to call so many stations because people aren't available and no one calls you back. I have been under such stress."

An Edmonton police spokeswoman said: "The man's bike was not removed by police and remained at the scene of the accident. It is not the responsibility of police to secure, guard or remove vehicles that are not causing an obstruction to other motorists or pedestrians."

katie.davies@hamhigh.co.uk