A NOTORIOUS "monkey bike" is off to be crushed after police shared the tale of how it was seized.
Officers from West Yorkshire Police's Leeds District Off-Road Bike Team were on "high alert" after receiving numerous calls about nuisance motorbikes, in particular a tiny dirt bike "causing a ruckus", in the Holtdale estate, near Horsforth.
They received a call last Thursday reporting that "the notorious 'monkey bike' was at it again".
Officers went to the estate and spotted a gang of youths - one of whom was allegedly riding a small off-road motorbike.
A spokesperson for the Leeds West Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) said the youngsters did not see the officers and "were caught off guard" in a "game of hide-and-seek" as they moved in.
The youths then "scattered" and left the motorbike behind.
Moments later they returned and asked "why are you taking our bike?", according to the force spokesperson.
Checks showed the bike had been used with no insurance and no licence.
The spokesperson said no one stepped forward to take ownership of the vehicle initially, until a youth wearing a balaclava tried to claim it was his, allegedly taking his mask on and off when officers were not looking.
Police seized the white and yellow dirt bike and said it will be crushed.
The moniker "monkey bike" first came about when Honda released a small motorbike in 1961.
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) said in an article from August last year: "The bizarre sight of an adult hunched over the motorbike's tiny frame reminded some of a chimp on a bicycle at the circus and it quickly gained its monkey nickname."
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