A PETITION has been launched to ban a serial bike thief from returning to the city.

The appeal was set up to ban Ben Wilde, who has more than 20 previous convictions for theft and possession of drugs, from returning to Worcester and Malvern.

The petition, set up by Jon Roe on May 11, had already received 415 signatures within two days.

The online request says: “Mr Ben Wilde has repeatedly stolen from our houses and made the safety of our possessions a worry.

“The judicial system does not take into account public feeling.

“Ban Ben Wilde from Malvern and Worcester.”

To see appeal, visit www.change.org/p/harriet-baldwin-ban-ben-wilde-from-malvern-worcester?

Wilde received a 14 weeks suspended sentence at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on May 9.

He appeared in court after stealing a bike from a Worcester business.

Wilde, of no fixed address, was spotted on CCTV climbing over the fence of a site in Waterworks Road at around 7.15pm on May 1, stealing a bike.

The theft was reported on May 5 and Wilde was then arrested in Malvern on May 11 having been recalled to prison, following a short foot chase.

In February last year, Wilde, from Ronkswood, was banned from driving as a ‘totter’ because he had 12 points or more on his licence.

In August 2019 he was handed a community order after he damaged the vinyl roof of his ex-partner’s Mini and punched a man, delivering four ‘uppercuts’.

The court heard how he also slashed the roof of her Mini convertible, leaving a 10-inch scratch on June 24 last year.

He then sent her a text message offering to pay for it and the very next day smashed the windscreen and passenger window.

In October 2019 he admitted stealing a van full of wine and was jailed for 30 weeks.