A MAN is appealing for information about who stole his motorbike and set it on fire on a neighbour’s drive.

Jack Sweetenham left his home on Finchley Road, Westcliff, to go to work, only to find his £1,500 black Yamaha Signus had been stolen.

He later saw on the Echo website that a motorbike had been dumped and set on fire on a drive in nearby Satanita Road, and was able to identify the remains as his bike from a distinctive exhaust pipe he had fitted.

Mr Sweetenham, 22, said although the bike was insured, losing it meant he was struggling to get to and from work.

He said: “I can’t understand why anyone would torch my bike on someone else’s drive, I want to get some more information to catch the person who did this.

“I suffer from Asperger’s syndrome and getting buses can cause me problems during rush hour because I don’t like crowded places – it causes problems there and it’s affecting my job as a children’s centre support worker because I’m required to go to an outreach site.”

A police spokesman said: “We received reports a black Yamaha motorbike had been stolen from an address in Finchley Road, Westcliff, between 6.30pm on, June 23, and 8.10am on June 24.

“The motorbike was found burned out nearby on June 24.”

Anyone with information should call 101.