An American couple travelling the world have had their plans devastatingly put on hold - after their BMW motorbike was stolen in the UK.
Lydia Rolita, 49, and Stefan Mrozewski, 47, visited Liverpool as part of their 18-month trip travelling across the world on the back of the vehicle.
The couple, who had shipped the motorbike over from their home in Hawaii, US, to the UK, parked the vehicle in a designated motorcycle space in Liverpool city centre on Friday, June 9 but the following morning it and all its belongings had vanished.
CCTV footage appears to show two people with their hoods up riding an electric bike near the parking spot at around 2.45am on Saturday.
In the same footage seen by Liverpool Echo, one person can be seen riding away on the back of a motorbike, while another leaves on an electric bike. Merseyside Police said its enquiries into the incident are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the force.
Lydia said: "We worked hard to ship the motorcycle from Hawaii to the UK. It has all of our possessions in it. We were planning on travelling for the next year and a half down to South Africa and back.
"We're devastated. We're trying to take one day at a time."
The couple saved up tens of thousands of pounds for the once-in-a-lifetime trip, with Lydia quitting her job as a doctor and Stefan quitting his job as an engineer. They have put up posters in the city centre in the hope of finding the bike, which is described as a black 2023 BMW with three aluminium panniers and a Hawaii license plate: 627XRE.
Lydia added: "We're in shock and we're very upset. We're upset with ourselves for not taking precautions, not expecting a crime like this to happen and preparing for it."
A spokesperson from Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm we received a report of a motorbike being stolen in Liverpool on Saturday 10 June. It was reported that the parked motorbike was stolen from Old Churchyard, in Liverpool city centre, in the early hours of the morning.
"Our enquiries are ongoing into this incident and if you have any information, contact our social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ with any information with reference 23000501047."
