Moped returned - four years later

Joshua Whyman, from Hastings, has been reunited with his scooter which was stolen four years ago. Photo / Paul Taylor

A Hastings man has been reunited with his scooter four years after it was stolen.

Joshua Whyman had his yellow 49cc Orion scooter worth $2400 stolen from his Wellington home back in 2011.

Earlier this month, a day before his 28th birthday, he got a phone call to say they had found his beloved bike.

Although returned in less than pristine condition, he was ecstatic to have his moped back.

"It has a few missing pieces, the exhaust and battery are missing but everything else is intact."

The scooter was taken after Mr Whyman left it outside his house to be picked up by a garage.

"My scooter needed a new tyre, and I was busy at work all the time, so I rang a company to come and pick it up."

He was asked to leave the keys in a compartment on the bike.

After waiting a few days, Mr Whyman rang the garage who told him the scooter never arrived. He rang around various Wellington garages in a bid to find the stolen scooter.

No one had seen it.

Six months later while at a cafe, his friend noticed a familiar sight cruising past.

"Isn't that your scooter?" he said.

Mr Whyman chased the driver and the pair had a heated confrontation once he caught up.

"He claimed he bought it from Turners Auctions, the police were called but because I hadn't reported it stolen I had to let him go," Mr Whyman said.

There had been no registration change since Mr Whyman owned it.

"After that I reported it stolen, and it went on the police records."

Then on February 2, 2016, police called and said his scooter had been found in Tawa.

He thought the call was a prank.

"I had totally forgotten about it, I accepted it was gone for good.

"It was pretty exciting, I have a lot of cool memories from that scooter."

Mr Whyman arranged for a friend to pick up the bike and bring it to Hastings. He said it was the "best birthday present ever".

He hoped others that had property stolen would hear his story and not give up hope.