A “prolific offender” in Wandsworth who taunted police before being arrested has been spared jail.

Nathan Bick commented on a wanted appeal on a police Facebook page telling officers to ‘keep up if you can’.

And they did.

Bick, aged 18, of Solna Avenue, Wandsworth, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 weeks, at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on May 8.

See related: 'Keep up if you can': Wanted man Nathan Bick taunts Wandsworth police on Facebook

Bick was convicted on April 28 of breaching his Criminal Behaviour Order and stealing a motorbike.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £200 to the CPS and to pay a surcharge of £115 to victim services.

PC Curtis from the Wandsworth motorcycle crime investigation unit said: “Having spent a great deal of time investigating these offences I am pleased to see that the court has taken into account their gravity and impact, which is reflected in the sentence.

“I am grateful to those officers who have worked alongside me on this case and put in many long hours to secure the convictions.

“The Wandsworth moped-enabled crime hub will continue to work towards bringing offenders to justice.”

In reaction to critical comments on Facebook about the lack of severity of the sentence, Wandsworth Police said: “We cannot emphasise enough how hard our officers work in each and every one of these cases, from investigating an initial allegation through arrest and interview to evidence gathering and charge.

“We have no say as to how a case is resolved in court. Once a case file has been submitted to the CPS and our officers have given their evidence, it is down to the courts to decide the rest.”