Exclusive Titch Cormack interview: ‘They’ve taken away the thing that I flipping live for’

Former Special Forces Operator and star of BBC 2’s The Speedshop, Steve ‘Titch’ Cormack has spoken exclusively to MCN about the ordeal of having two bikes stolen from his property and the impact it has had on his mental health. 

“I’m sure you’re aware of my background. I’m a fairly robust individual. I’ve been through a lot of things, but I’m not afraid to say that this has massively affected me,” he told MCN. 

“If they sell [one of the bikes], they’ll sell it for a few hundred quid because they know nothing about that thing. They have no idea how special that bike is. They’re just going to flipping wreck it.”

The off-road motorcycles in question are a 2020 Husqvarna FE350, and a 2001 Honda CR250 two-stroke. Although very fond of both, Titch says he was planning to race in the 2024 British Enduro Championship aboard the Husky and had been practising hard at some local tracks and taking riding tuition in order to be competitive at the beginning of the season.

“All of a sudden, all that time, effort that I’ve put into myself, into the bike is gone and they’ve taken that away for a joyride,” he continued. “That was an absolute minter 2001 bike.”

According to Titch, the bikes were taken from his S Bomb Vintage Workshop in Poole Quay – a space he created after leaving the military in 2016. It specialises in building and selling custom bikes, while there’s also a popular café on site for visitors. 

He became aware of the theft while on his way to a meeting in London, after a neighbouring business worker spotted a discarded motorcycle helmet outside the yard gates.

“Dorset Police received a report at 8.50am on Tuesday, February 6 of a burglary at S Bomb Vintage Workshop in Dee Way in Poole,” a spokesperson for the Dorset force confirmed to MCN.

“Officers attended and carried out an examination of the scene. Two motorbikes were stolen. Enquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made.”

Cormack continued: “I’d been up at Rogers Hill Raceway on Saturday practising, so I thought somebody had seen the bikes at the track, targeted the bikes, maybe put a tracker on my van.

“When I eventually looked at the CCTV footage, they were just there to rob the place,” he continued. “They went straight to the till, and they’ve obviously been in the café, so they knew exactly where the till was, and the money drawer was.”

Titch added: “They got to the bikes, and they were padlocked to a lathe of all things. They smashed the locks off the chain and proceeded to push the bikes out.

“The CR is a kickstart and the Husqvarna is a push-button electric start,” Titch continued. “But these people are obviously aware of what those are and the fact that they could start them.”

“I ended up speaking to some houses that are across the road from us, and they had Ring doorbells and a camera as well. So I know they pushed them away from the site. That’s when they started them.

“They rode across the old bridge towards Hamworthy and that is the last that was seen of the bikes and the thieves on the CCTV.”

With the bikes still not found, Titch says that the theft has had an impact on his family life. 

“My missus was getting on to me saying: ‘Let’s just take your mind off it and go for a walk around the woods with the little one.’ I was like: ‘I can’t because I will be walking around the woods thinking, how do I get my bike back?’

“That’s all I will be thinking. That will not take my mind off it. I will not be very good company at all because that’s all I’m going to be obsessing about.”

Officers are appealing for people to get in touch via the Dorset Police website with any information.