Amateur detective Natalie foils village crime in Worsthorne

Property developer Natalie Surdival (38) was in the right place at the right time when a youth made off with the electric bike in an opportunistic theft in Worsthorne village centre last Thursday afternoon.

The high-tech Liv Embleton bike belonged to a middle-aged couple from Blacko who had stopped at the Village Store for refreshments halfway through a ride along the Pennine Bridleway.

Natalie spoke to the Burnley Express about the drama that followed on what would otherwise have been a sleepy Thursday afternoon in the village.

"I was just sat in the car with my young son when a lady approached in tears asking if I had seen a lad steal her bike. The lady's husband was in the shop getting a drink when this lad followed him in and then came out and grabbed the lady's bike," she said.

"She thought he had got out of a waiting car before going in the shop which had then set off with him trying to hold on. They must have only been 20 seconds ahead of me so I spun round and made a pursuit.

"I asked a few people if they had seen the car and someone said they saw it heading towards Hurstwood. I went down there and there was a tractor blocking the lane so I made sure I asked every car that went past behind it if they had seen the car."

What happened next amazed even Natalie, whose amateur sleuthing kicked into gear.

"One of the cars, which was splattered in mud had three young people in and a young lad who was clearly out of breath," she added. The road there is full of potholes and mud so I thought it must be the same group so I took pictures of the car and registration and went back to the village centre.

"The couple were there with the police by that time so I told them I suspected the bike may have been dumped near Hurstwood Lane. We set off back and sure enough I found it hidden out of sight.

"I was so angry because this lovely couple had come for a ride through our village and I didn't want them to get the wrong impression. Everyone looks out for each other here so I was happy to do my bit.

"I always fancied being a detective and the policeman jokingly offered me his badge. We are an amazing community and I'm glad the bad guys didn't win."

Natalie has since won plenty of praise from police, locals and the grateful couple who were the victims.

The 55-year-old man, who did not wish to be named, said: "We are very grateful to Natalie and have bought her a bouquet of flowers and offered to pay for damage to her car wheel which happened when she was in pursuit.

"My wife had only bought the bike a couple of months ago and it was quite expensive. We didn't believe there was any chance of seeing it again once it had been stolen but Natalie came up trumps.

"A desperate feeling quickly turned to elation when we found the bike. It was a miracle we found it really."