Devastated Edinburgh man returns from morning run to gutting discovery in shed

He was left gutted
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


An Edinburgh man is appealing for information after his bikes were nicked from his shed overnight.

Rider, Ilya Popov, 35, woke up on January 27 around 6am and was alerted by his nine-year-old son their shed had been left open on Hutchison View.

Instantly feeling like something was wrong, the 35-year-old quickly realised not only his bike but his son's bike had been stolen too.

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Later in the day, a neighbour spotted Ilya's child's bike in another shed. Investigations revealed that the thieves attempted to steal from this shed, too, and dropped his son's bike in the middle of the road after they left the scene.

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Thankful that one of the bikes were retrieved, Ilya is still devastated his dream mountain bike has not been located and is desperate for answers.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, he said: "I woke up for my regular morning run and once I got back at 7.40am I woke up my son.

"As soon as he got up and opened the curtains, he asked me "why is our shed open?" and that immediately made me realise that something was wrong and it definitely felt unusual.

"I noticed the door was broken and of course, both of our bikes were gone. It was a pure miracle that at least my son's bike was retrieved, but still my Nukeproof is missing."

The bike was nicked from his shed
The bike was nicked from his shed

The dad has been left devastated without his bike. After moving to Edinburgh three years ago, he realised it was one of the "best places on earth" to ride a mountain bike.

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He continued: "I've always been addicted to bikes and extreme sports, but bikes have always been my passion since I got my first BMX back in 2005. When I came to Edinburgh three and a half years ago because of my job, I realised that it is probably one of the best places on earth to ride a proper full suspension mountain bike about.

"I decided to invest some money in that bike, and I absolutely feel in love with mountain biking in Scotland.

"You have a dream, you work hard to save some money, you buy yourself your dream bike and then someone just takes it away from you in one day and then you have to live with that because you can't afford another bike just like that with a sway of a wand."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 11.10am on Monday, 27 January, 2025, officers received a report of the theft of two bikes on Hutchison View, Edinburgh.

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“Officers are following a positive line of enquiry.”