Authorities investigate missing scooter in River Witham near Sedgwick Meadows in Grantham

Agatha Christie may have written the thrilling Death on the Nile but there’s a new mystery in Grantham - the scooter in the Witham.

RiverCare Grantham took to social media last week to say it was aware of a large Lexmoto Aura 125 motor scooter in the River Witham in the Sedgwick Meadows area of Grantham.

It had been reported to them by a South Kesteven officer at about 1.10pm on Wednesday, December 11.

The group said on Facebook: “We are unable to retrieve it due to its size, weight and positioning, and on entry, there were signs of petrol and oil leaks.”

The bike was reported to the Environment Agency, who came out to examine the situation on Thursday morning, only to find that the scooter had vanished.

According to Ian Simmons from RiverCare Grantham, the Environment Agency was unable to locate the scooter when they arrived, as it had seemingly disappeared from the river.

He initially said the scooter may have sunk further into the murky, fast-flowing river, making retrieval difficult.

The scooter disappeared sometime between 3pm, when the group left, and 7am the following morning, when the Environment Agency arrived.

“We didn't get it out because it was obviously cold, wet, fast-flowing and murky water, and we couldn’t spend too much time in there. We left it in place because we felt it wasn’t going anywhere,” said Ian.

“We were either right or wrong – either it has gone somewhere and someone’s fished it out somehow, or it’s just sunk.”

Ian returned later on Thursday, and said clearer water revealed no vehicle, though the bank looked disturbed.

He guessed that either the owner, or an opportunist scrap dealer who may have seen it on social media, had retrieved it.

Any petrol leakage is thought to have had minimal impact due to the river's flow.

Ian said that when they reported the incident to the Environment Agency, they were asked if there was any wildlife damage, but they hadn’t observed anything floating on the surface or any other signs of harm.

He added that the river was flowing very quickly, and he didn’t believe it was a major incident due to the quantities involved.

RiverCare Grantham isn’t unfamiliar with unusual objects in the river, having pulled out items including numerous microwaves, fridge freezers, vacuum cleaners and even a camping trailer.

Items are usually passed to South Kesteven District Council to dispose of properly.

The Environment Agency has been asked for comment but was unable to confirm further details by the time of publication.

However, a spokesperson did state that if a small amount of petrol had leaked, the water flow would have dispersed most of it.

They added that if the scooter was found again, it would depend on the circumstances as to whether removal would be the responsibility of the Environment Agency or South Kesteven District Council.

No criminal reports were made, according to Lincolnshire Police.