York workers have spoken out after a spell of motorbike thefts have forced them out of their jobs, robbed them of months of wages, and even driven them to suicidal thoughts.
A group of delivery drivers, factory workers, and hospitality staff have come together to raise awareness of the ‘lawlessness’ happening within the city.
One York resident fears it’s only a matter of time before someone will be pushed to breaking point and carry out some form of retaliation.
The group believe that a gang of youths are purposely targeting working individuals to steal and damage their motorbikes.
They travel around in groups, on pushbikes, and often wear balaclavas to cover their faces.
It’s been going on for the last two years, but things only seem to be getting worse.
‘They screamed they’re going to kill me’
We previously spoke to Hristo Ruiz, a delivery driver in York who has had three motorbikes stolen and another damaged.
The incidents have cost Hristo thousands of pounds in repairs, which he’s had to pay for out of his own pocket.
He’s lost money, his mental health has taken a huge decline, and he now lives in a state of fear due to being targeted by the group.
“They’ve screamed that they’re going to kill me or stab me. I’m an athletic person but how could I take on five of them?” he told YorkMix.
“I think to myself, how do I go to work and live my life now?”
He’s been trying to move house since December due to his concerns.
‘We’re afraid of consequences’
Worjciech Sobczyk is a friend of Hristo and also works in York. He fears that the consistent attacks on York delivery drivers will only end in disaster.
“They need to understand, we’re not afraid of them, we’re afraid of consequences”, he said.
As the youngsters continue to get away with it, the braver they become, Worjciech believes.
“There’s no repercussion, no consequences, so they keep going. And you know, one day they are just gonna cross the line.
“People will use anything they have to use as self defence, and at some point, someone might get injured, badly,” Wojciech added.
It happened in Dublin, he said, where a delivery driver, George Gonzaga Bento, stabbed and killed a 16-year-old, Josh Dunne, in January 2021. Bento was cleared of murder after a jury accepted that he was acting in self-defence after being attacked by a gang when he and a colleague tried to retrieve a stolen bike.
Bento worked for Uber Eats, and said he carried the knife to defend himself because the conditions for delivery drivers were “dangerous”.
Worjciech said that the York group of youths assume that their victims will do nothing more than call the police, as that’s the only response they’ve seen so far.
But for many workers, having a bike stolen can have very serious consequences – and with faith in the authorities diminishing, Worjciech fears some might take matters into their own hands.
“Some of these people can’t afford to shout for the police, because if you’re stealing a £3,000 motorbike from the driveway, they need to earn £3,000 to buy another one and are drowning in debt.”
He said he couldn’t understand the mentality of the thieves. They weren’t stealing because their families weren’t able to pay their bills.
“These people have a normal life. They record their crimes with iPhones, it blows my mind” Worjiech said.
‘I wanted to commit suicide’
Aaron Calliste, a factory worker from York has also been in touch with YorkMix to highlight his experiences.
Last June his flatmate’s motorbike was stolen by the group, and then his was taken in the following October.
It only took a matter of days for Aaron’s bike to be recovered, but the state it was in meant he couldn’t afford the repairs.
“It would have cost around £800 as they broke a lot of parts. The internal parts started to go wrong, there were electrical problems because they cut the wires. They also broke the lock,” he told YorkMix.
Aaron worked as a cleaner in Malton at the time, so had no way of travelling to and from his job.
After months of effort to pay off any outstanding bills, he was forced out of his cleaning role.
“I was stressed, I was depressed, because that around that time when they stole my bike, I’d finished paying off all my bills for the year.
“So I was relieved – I was like, finally I can start living for a little bit until Christmas, and the then the next day my bike was gone,” he told YorkMix.
Aaron’s time off work meant he was unable to send money back to his children in Trinidad. “My kids went without money for food and stuff for two months because of it,” he added.
Aaron reported all the information to North Yorkshire Police, who he believes could have done more.
He said, “I don’t think that they do enough, because these kids are all over the place doing the same thing.
“It’s the same names keep popping up, the same groups and the same areas, and I think that the police could do more.”
Aaron now shares his time between York and Leeds for work, and feels the police response differs hugely between the two cities.
“I had other bike incidents in Leeds and the police came within five minutes. In York, the police came the next day.
“They’re not taking the bike theft seriously in York, and it’s impacting people’s lives,” he told YorkMix.
The ordeal has had a catastrophic impact on Aarons mental health. “Honestly, I felt like I wanted to commit suicide because I was so stressed out, depressed and feeling like I was getting nowhere.”
Police response
North Yorkshire Police have responded with this comment:
Our response to this is OP Ignition which is led by PC Ben Ambler from the York Outer Neighbourhood Policing Team.
Ben said: “Despite some positive results and reductions in reports of thefts towards the end of the summer, the last few months of 2024 saw a spike in motorcycle thefts across the city.
“Our officers have used a range of tactics, including specialist resources, drones and plain-clothes officers to disrupt groups of motorcycle thieves – leading to a 70% reduction in thefts in December and January 2025 has now seen the lowest number of reports of motorcycle thefts since the operation was launched.
“We are committed to tackling this issue and will continue to disrupt and apprehend those responsible for this type of crime.
“If you own a motorcycle, remember to follow our advice and keep your vehicle out of sight and to layer your security.
“These types of thefts tend to occur between late evening and the early hours, with offenders targeting vehicles parked on the street, on driveways or in gardens and attacking the security of the vehicles.
“Offenders will typically arrive on the scene on bicycles.
“Please continue to be vigilant and report anything suspicious to the police on 101, or 999 if a crime is in progress.”
Have you, or anyone you know been a target to this group? Get in touch at info@yorkmix.com.