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news
axe thrown at cyclist - via Carl Ainsworth on facebook.PNGPolice appeal after cyclist had axe thrown at him from van window
*Update, 4.46pm: road.cc has now received a statement from Staffordshire Police. The original article is below the statement.
Police were called at 8.56pm on Sunday 11 July to B5017 Four Lane End following reports of an axe being thrown out of a van at a cyclist.
Officers advised the cyclist – who was uninjured – to go home and that they would attend his home address.
Police visited the victim, who had taken the axe home, the following morning. The victim declined to give a formal statement to police. The axe was seized for destruction.
Officers are currently collating CCTV footage of the area at the time and ask anyone with information to contact them.
The van is described as a white, but dirty, Ford Transit.
Anyone who saw what happened, or has any information, should contact Staffordshire Police on Facebook, Twitter, or call 101, quoting incident number 752 of 11 July. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 11.
A cyclist who had an axe thrown at him from a white van has said that police told him they won't be following up on the incident because he didn't obtain the registration plate number for the vehicle.
Carl Ainsworth says he was riding at approximately 8.50pm on Sunday evening on Belmot Road in Needwood, Staffordshire, when an axe was thrown at him from a white high roof van. Carl contacted Staffordshire Police, and says an officer told him the incident wouldn't be followed up on unless they receive further complaints about the occupants of a van matching the description. He was also told there was nothing they could do without the registration number, and that fingerprints wouldn't be taken from the weapon.
Carl told road.cc: "Unfortunately the van came at me from behind and by the time I had realised what had happened I couldn't get the number plate.
"I'm going to approach the petrol station at the roundabout at the end of the road for CCTV footage. I told them [Staffordshire Police] the garage has CCTV and the van would have to drive past to go anywhere to which they said they won't be going to try and get footage.
"They have collected the axe from me which I had to go back and collect myself and have said it will be destroyed and highly unlikely prints will be taken from it."
Carl posted a photo and news of the incident to a local Facebook group, which has already been shared hundreds of times.
"Hopefully I get a reg plate then we will see if they are interested", added Carl.
"Throwing an axe from a vehicle at a cyclist is surely attempted manslaughter, maybe they would have a different approach if it was and a mother and child.
"Either way very frustrating. Last year I had a bike stolen and had to get CCTV myself and track them down, put myself in harm's way to get my bike back as the police were not interested. And this is even worse."
road.cc has contacted Staffordshire Police for comment.
Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story).
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Here's what Staffordshire Police do when on the receiving end: https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/chains-axe-hammer-t....
They collected the items to be disposed of safely I trust....
I still don't get why they'd destroy the axe, as surely it is evidence?
That's why they destroyed it. They'd have to take action otherwise
That tea doesn't drink itself you know.....
They're trying to destroy the evidence as quickly as possible to discourage others from making police reports. They don't want to solve crimes, they want to prevent them; and the easiest way is to discourage people from reporting crimes. This is how West Midlands Police work - don't investigate crimes in the hopes people won't report tham, and they'll have less work to do.
This is how West Midlands Police work - don't investigate crimes in the hopes people won't report them, and they'll have less work to do
Disgraceful! This modus operandi has long been copyrighted by Lancashire Constabulary and is not available to just any ordinarily idle constabulary. This van DU61 VHJ illegally crosses far over the double white line on a humped bridge as well as coming frighteningly close at speed. LC will ignore this, but the response to my complaint of 6 months ago about LC ignoring all offences against cyclists, red light crashing by big black Range Rovers with blacked out windows etc. was due a week ago and hasn't arrived yet!
the response to my complaint of 6 months ago about LC ignoring all offences against cyclists, red light crashing by big black Range Rovers with blacked out windows etc. was due a week ago and hasn't arrived yet!
It has arrived now, and was even more rubbishy than I expected. The main complaint about LC ignoring serious red light crashing offences wasn't mentioned at all and the 4 cases of this within 40 minutes on the A6 which were reported the following day and about which I heard nothing until I was told 'the cases are now too late to process' weren't mentioned specifically either. LC, without overtly stating this, confirmed the Staffordshire view that if a vehicle does not hit and seriously injure or kill you they can't decide how close it came and therefore there was no offence. So that's two forces which render the NMotD series completely useless unless we continue to complain- I am doing my bit and the complaint has already gone to the PCC. I am not expecting much from that except another interminable delay, but I am ready for the stage after that because of my well-founded suspicion of corruption at LC in which private arrangements are made between traffic officers and offenders to 'disappear' the prosecution for these indisputable red light offences.
Once again, thank you to road.cc for following this up.
As has happened before, this has got a more satisfactory response from the police than an individual has got. In this case it seems that the original decision not to proceed has been reversed but it has also opened up a new can of worms.
Finally, if the cyclist had been using a camera we may be reading a differeent story. A sad reflection on society I'm afraid but I will no longer cycle without one.
The victim declined to give a formal statement to police.
The police telling fibs again, as per?
Are they so stupid to think that everybody is going to believe that? Why on earth would the rider complain to the police about a pretty serious incident and then decline to give a statement? Fools.
I am a prosecutor.
That shit happens ALL. THE. TIME.
Well if you're working within the criminal justice system that must be BLOODY. ANNOYING
I have no personal knowledge of Staffordshire Police, but I do know about Lancashire: the ability of the police to be both bent and dim should be appreciated. There is no doubt, following the Wayne Couzens murder of the unfortunate Sarah Everard, that police are apt to be bent. Lancashire, as I have bored people with before, came up with the astonishing idea that the impeccable video of a white line crossing offence had to be confirmed by video from the offending vehicle, of which there wasn't any. NFA. The relative contributions of dimness and bentness are difficult to ascertain, as they are in the cases of failure to take action over equally impeccable evidence of red light crashing by large Range Rovers with blacked out windows- latest one today. I am anticipating them completely ignoring the report, especially as they are presently running at well over 2 weeks before they even consider an online incident report- when it is, of course, too late to take any action. You just have to keep going as part of your civic duty when a police force is failing as badly as this.
How the bloody hell did he manage to get that axe home on a bike ??
I do wonder if its possible that it wasn't thrown but fell off ? You'd have to be an absolute psycho to lob an axe at someone. I can definitely imagine a scenario where it's been left on the roof and forgotten about. I know someone who drove 10 miles down country lanes with a knife on his car roof. Still no idea how it didn't fall off.
He went back for it ( in a car?)
"They have collected the axe from me which I had to go back and collect myself"
Ah ta. I should learn to read really.
It's over-rated; I just scan things, post something provocative and collect the money.
On the plus side, the red and black of the axe is nicely co-ordinated with the bike.
Also, if the police ask you why you're cycling around with a huge axe, just say a man in a van threw it at me and you'll be on your way with a cheery 'mind how you go sir!'.
But seriously, what hope do we have if even this level of offending doesn't warrant investigation?
So if, in future a van driver, hurls an axe out of window at a mother pushing a baby in a buggy, or a local politician or even a police officer, it won't be investigated?
I know the police are really busy, I was trying to remember which lot it was that got rid of 28000 police officers not so long back.....
Yeah, but they've reinstated some of them, and made it clear how much they appreciate them.
Like when they beat up and arrest peaceful protestors on false pretences who protest against the government bringing in a bill to make it legal for the police to arrest and beat up peaceful protestors.
When they said "if you want to kill someone and get away with it use a car" I thought they just meant hit them with the car and claim it's an accident, not use the car for a drive by axe murder.
learn something every day, I suppose.
That's a rather big axe to throw probably one handed out of a transit window.
Okay, so have the police realised their mistake or had Carl mis-represented the situation?
I rather suspect Karl "misunderstood" the Rozzers clear and unambiguous request for him to make a statement as a refusual to investigate, but now the English language has fallen down the stairs a couple of times it has learnt the error of its ways and has apologised wholeheartedly to Karl for its role in the "misunderstanding".
The officers involved are proceeding forthwith to seize the CCTV from the petrol station now they have fully understood there is a Krispy Kreme stand inside.
The statement from the police, saying that they are investigating, is in complete conflict with what Carl says, so did Carl write this before the police visited him? And why refuse to give a statement? Strange and stranger yet.
I'm rather disturbed that the axe has been seized for destruction, not forensic examination.
That's a statement from the police. Was it a case that
" well if you really want we'll allow you to submit a statement, but there doesn't seem to be any point as we aren't going to investigate. No? your choice I s'pose.
Now, we need to seize that axe, we're going to bin it. No, you can't keep it bagged up here, how can we destroy evidence if you don't hand it over... duh"
That would also fit with the rozzers' statement of events.....
Couple of years back I was assaulted by a securtity guard on a public street, I filmed the entire incident in one unbroken shot. I didn't live in Bristol where it happened at the time so had to travel there to give what I believed was a statement and I sat and was interviewed by an officer who wrote it all up and had me read it back. it wasn't until a few weeks later I realised that I hadn't actually signed anything and on enquiring was told I hadn't made a statement and that without one no action would be taken and they then managed to delay and fail to communicate until the incident couldn't be investigated as I hadn't made a statement in the prescribed timeframe, all my fault, yeah right.
This has to be a piss take surely?
No police force in the world, never mind in this country, would surely allow something like this to go uninvestigated? Especially when there could be CCTV footage available? I just can't believe it (not that I don't believe the reporter, I just don't believe the police could be this feckless).
You'd think wouldn't you? There was the incident a while back where someone was seriously injured in a head-on with a vehicle on the wrong side of the road. The victim was required to go and find his own evidence (he was still recovering) as the police refused to act. This was the Met.
The victim was required to go and find his own evidence (he was still recovering) as the police refused to act
It doesn't matter whether you do provide them with conclusive police-effort-free evidence; if they don't want to do anything, they just ignore it. Lancashire is now well beyond 2 weeks before they even look at online incident reports, and it's likely they bin most of them without even looking. Especially when it's big posh cars with blacked out windows crashing through red lights at 60- this is Discovery SL68 VFY
Just for comparison, I had an incident a few years ago where somebody in the village repeatedly threatened to kill me, amongst other things. Berkshire constabulary helpfully came round to the door and explained to me that they couldn't do anything because the threats were on the internet. There were ample screenshots & witnesses.
I moved out of the village. I feel sorry for the bloke, he seems to fixate on random local people and decide that they're demons and must be destroyed; life can't be much fun for him. If it was a mental health problem it's hardly going to be treated since he was banned from the local GP (for threatening a receptionist, I think) but the police would only deal with the abuse when it's face-to-face and there's more witnesses.
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