Fake roadies dupe man after swiping kit from Noah And The Whale.

They are best known as the indie-folk band with the catchy hit Five Years Time.

However, following a bizarre series of events, Noah And The Whale have found themselves embroiled in an investigation resulting in thousands of pounds worth of equipment being stolen from a property in Lincolnshire.

Peter Thompson, a retired businessman, was visiting his wife at her home in Eagle, near Lincoln.

He was approached by two men, claiming to be members of Noah And The Whale’s road crew, who were experiencing difficulties with their van whilst en route to the next date of a European tour.

Mr Thompson agreed to let the men store the gear in a shed on his wife’s property.

When they returned several days later, Mr Thompson gave them the keys so they could re-load the van themselves.

They promptly returned the keys and paid Mr Thompson £50 for his trouble.

When he returned to the shed a couple of weeks later, however, he found the men had left behind their original gear, and had stolen 27 man-powered hydrofoils, worth a total of £16,060.

Mr Thompson is a distributor for Pumpabike Europe, who supply the water-crafts throughout the continent.

Upon further investigation, Mr Thompson found that the equipment originally stored in the shed had been stolen from the band following a gig in Manchester on September 30.

“The situation is that bizarre, it has to be true,” said Mr Thompson.

“At least the crooks gave me £50, which I spent down the boozer.”

Bass player for Noah And The Whale, Matt Owens, said that Christmas came early for the band when they were reunited with their instruments.

He said: “Through a bizarre list of incredulous events, the thieves had asked to store the gear in Peter Thompson’s shed, claiming their van had broken down.

“We would like to offer enormous thanks to Peter Thompson for reuniting us with our gear.”

Detective Sergeant Simon Akker, of Salford CID, said: “The instruments stolen from the band were of huge sentimental value, and if it had not been for the vigilance and honesty of the man who discovered them they may never have been returned.

“Special thanks must go to him for the efforts he put in to returning the stolen property to its rightful owner.

“This is an ongoing inquiry and we are determined to convict whoever is responsible.”