STEVE PARSLEY follows the drama surrounding the riddle of the stolen vintage motorbike that is used in TV's Heartbeat show.

IT could have been a scene straight out of Heartbeat involving the television show's loveable rogue Claude Greengrass.

The drama began on Wednesday when a valuable vintage motorcycle used in the hit ITV1 series, which is filmed around the Goathland area of the North York Moors, was stolen outside owner Dick Craven's house, near York.

It finally ended yesterday, in Leeds, when the bike that has featured in Heartbeat for more than ten years, ridden by the show's leading fictional bobbies, was found. And Mr Craven had a few choice words to say about the real boys in blue.

The rare 1960 BSA 650 was first ridden by Nick Berry, who played Nick Rowan, when the series was still in its early days. It has also been ridden by actor Jason Durr, who plays PC Mike Bradley.

But there were real fears the machine may have made its last appearance on the small screen when it was stolen from outside Mr Craven's house, in Stockton on the Forest, where he also has a motorbike museum.

Two men approached Mr Craven shortly after he returned from filming around Goathland and asked if they could use nearby fields to run their dogs.

But the request was only a ploy to check out his property and, when Mr Craven's back was turned, they got in his van and drove off with the BSA motorcycle still in the back.

The vehicle was later spotted in Bradford but had gone by the time police arrived.

In a further twist, it was then spotted in Leeds yesterday morning by a passer-by who happened to have visited Mr Craven's museum recently and thought it strange that it should be parked in West Yorkshire.

He called Mr Craven, 60, who sped to Leeds, arriving half-an-hour before the police.

Mr Craven said: "Someone who had visited my museum recognised my van and thought it was strange, so they gave me a call.

"When they realised it had the stolen bike in the back, they said they would let the vehicle's tyres down to stop the thieves making a quick getaway and it was still there when I arrived.

"However, it was another half-an-hour before the police got there, which was no good at all.

"If I hadn't made the journey myself, who is to say the thieves would not have come back and driven off again?

"The police seem to be happy enough to catch you speeding, but recovering stolen property doesn't seem to be as high on their list of priorities."

Inspector Paul Johnston, of West Yorkshire Police, confirmed that officers had been busy with other incidents in the city, including four road accidents, two robberies and a series of burglaries.

"There were 35 outstanding logs on the system when the shift began and with reduced resources available because of the bank holiday, we have to make decisions about which ones to deal with first.

"On this occasion we did not have the manpower to respond to a recovered vehicle as quickly as Mr Craven would have liked, but did our best in the circumstances."

Insp Johnston praised the person who reported the stolen van to Mr Craven.

"He certainly did a good job for the police and the owner. I am delighted the van and the motorcycle have been recovered," he said.

The bike will be appearing in the show once more when filming resumes on Tuesday.

Published: 10/04/2004