A man suspected of being a motorbike thief who police refused to chase because he wasn’t wearing a crash helmet has been killed riding a stolen machine.
Bobby Carl Hodgkins, 24, was one of two men arrested days after a raid at the Motorbike Store in Woodfield Road, Altrincham, last month.
At the time, police were ordered not to chase the thieves seen roaring away on stolen bikes – because the villains were not wearing crash helmets.
Officers saw three crooks fleeing from the scene on bikes worth £20,000 but they had to watch them escape due to fears over the thieves’ safety.
Police defended their actions, saying officers followed the correct protocol.
Now Mr Hodgkins has died after a Kawasaki 450 he was riding collided with a Toyota van. He was not wearing a helmet.
The motorbike had been stolen during a burglary in Audenshaw on August 26.
Mr Hodgkins suffered serious head injuries in the accident on Greenbrow Road, Wythenshawe, at 2.40pm on Saturday and died a short time later.
He had been due to answer bail for the Altrincham theft on September 10. He had been arrested on August 13.
Mr Hodgkins, from Wythenshawe, was banned for dangerous driving in 2005 and had to re-take his test to get his licence back, but had not done so.
Witnesses to the accident are asked to contact police on 0161 856 6173. During the Altrincham raid, officers spotted the criminals fleeing on a Yamaha R1, a Honda 1000 Fireblade and a Honda CBR 600.
They contacted their duty inspector for guidance but after learning none of the suspects was wearing helmets and safety equipment, he ordered them not to pursue the thieves.
Last night, Motorbike Store owner Tony Crawford, who has still not had his bikes returned, said: "I am deeply saddened that somebody has died, especially somebody so young.
"But this does show that police should stop individuals riding without helmets because they can end up killing themselves and others.
"If they know the police will pursue them, they will not do it."
Sale West MP Graham Brady said at the time of the original theft he was ‘astonished’ that the welfare of criminals in the act of breaking the law was put before a chance to apprehend them.
Chris Burrows, chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of the Police Federation, said the officers had acted in accordance with force policy and would have been severely criticised if they had acted any differently.
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"If they know the police will pursue them, they will not do it."
Quiet the opposite I would have thought, there is probably little they would like more than the chance to out run police on stolen motorbikes.
At least he didn't take anyone else out with him.
R.I.P BOBBY,LOVE YA TA BITS,,SLEEP TIGHT SOLJA,,, SEE YA ON THE OTHER SIDE XX
If the Police had stopped him originally the might still be alive
OK it's like this.
Lets all slate the police because they didn't pursue these people. Wasn't it the other way round when the motorcyclist from Denton died after a police pursuit?
The police were slated because they DID pursue him, and he was wearing a helmet.
There is no easy answer, if they don't pursue they are damned and if they do and something happens then the officers involved are made out to be the criminals.
As for the quote " But this does show that police should stop individuals riding without helmets because they can end up killing themselves and others "
How exactly are the police supposed to do that?
He wont be stealing anymore motor bikes now.
"If the Police had stopped him originally the might still be alive". I dont believe this for one second. Sounds like a persistent offender.
The Police should be allowed to do their jobs.
If thieving scum like this "Solja" (jesus wept!) want to rob the property of hard working individuals then I think they should take the American approach and ram them off the road.
Difficult to comment without being insensitive but it seems he had it coming. At least no innocents were involved.
Darwinism in action
Should be a lesson to others, but it wont be !!!!
Act like a fool, died like a fool.
"If the Police had stopped him originally the might still be alive"
No - if he didn't steal motor bikes he might still be alive.
I feel very sorry for the family and freinds of this lad ,but if we had a real deterent in the first place maybe things would be different.Its time we re thought the laws and how we deal with these persistant offenders.
The death of this man is in no way the fault of GMP. Those who live by the sword, etc.
Awful that someone has died, but he must have known the pros (won't get chased) and cons (safety risk) of riding without a helmet. He might have taken that gamble dozens of times, but it only took one 'loss' for all of his 'wins' to become moot.
Surely if you are a motorcycle thief it wouldn't be unreasonable to carry a helmet just in case
If this man had crashed and died whilst being persued by the Police there would have been one almighty outcry. Ironic therefore that people, including a local MP, should now choose the criticise the Police for NOT chasing them. I am no great supporter of GMP, but this seems a classic case of them being damned if they do and damned if they don't.
if your stupid enough this is what happens, next time chase the idiots.
"Love ya ta bits". Great choice of words under the circumstances.
"See ya on the other side". Oh great, you're intending going to the same place then.
they say crime doesnt pay...sadly for this young man he has found out the hard way sometimes this old addage is very true
Simple, if the Police would have pursued them on the night of the theft in Altrincham there is a good chance the riders would have come off and died, then the Police officers pursuing would have had months if not years of worrying about whether they were going to get sent down for doing there job. They showed professionalism and dedication to their job.
Its sad when anyone loses their life but I know the area and having nearly been knocked down by two lads on Motorcross bikes, speeding along the pavement, sympathy is none existant for the lad but I do feel sorry for his family who have to cope with this loss. These bikes can be great fun but do it somewhere safe and legally
i dont need a crash elmet it wont happen to me.......well it did.
Lets see how long before a frace book/flower shrine etc is set up for this no-mark. It's always the same "he was a good mate" "he was just haveing a laugh" etc. Glad it was just him and not a passer by or anothe road user.