AN INNERLEITHEN woman who had two bikes stolen from her home three years ago has had one of them returned to her.

Louise Cumming had her Mondraker Crafty + bike and her partner’s Transition Patrol bicycle – both worth around £4,000 – taken from her home’s garage in February 2018.

But, after eagle-eyed social media users spotted Louise’s bike up for sale, wheels were set in motion to retrieve it.

At the time of the theft, Louise, who runs her own business, said she believed her home was “targeted” and she felt “unsettled” by the incident.

“We had just bought the house,” she added.

“We’d been in a few months and it was just a horrible feeling.

READ MORE: 'If you’re struggling, you don’t have to keep it a secret'

“Because of the integrated garage, there’s just one door separating you from where the thieves were, and being in your house.

“It actually really unsettled me.”

The bright orange Mondraker was first spotted in a Facebook Marketplace advert which was shared with Louise on February 23, 2021.

However, when she had reported the advert to the police, the post had already been removed.

“There were quite a lot of people on Facebook who had noticed that this stolen bike had appeared,” Louise said. “So, very quickly the advert was taken down.

“We were working pretty well with the police and they actually went round to the person’s house who had advertised it and searched the house but it wasn’t there.”

Peeblesshire News:

Louise says the bike was then seen in an advert on the website Gumtree, posted from Edinburgh.

Through this, the police were able to contact the seller to arrange for Louise’s bike to be returned to her.

By February 25, Louise was reunited with her bike.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, February 23, we received information that a bike stolen from Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders in February 2018 was being advertised for sale online.

“Enquiries were carried out that led officers to an address in Edinburgh and a 17-year-old male youth has been charged in connection with the possession of stolen goods. A report has been sent to the Procurator Fiscal.

“The bike has now been returned to the rightful owner.”

READ MORE: Here are the new opening times for Borders recycling centres starting this month

Although Louise’s bike is back, there has been no such luck for her partner’s bicycle.

Louise believes that the reason she has been so lucky to get her bike back due to its “unique” look.

She said: “It’s quite a unique bike, there’s not a lot of them about, and it’s quite eye-catching as well.

“I think because it’s such a recognisable bike it’s just been put into hiding and then they’ve thought three years down the line it must be safe [to sell] now.

“The real miracle is that my bike is exactly as it was when it left my garage, so all the parts are still on it.”