Chris, that functions as a council real estate policeman, began doing work to improve his garden over the current April bank holiday weekend.

But after excavating down a metre right into the soil, Chris, Natasha and Scarlett were surprised to strike metal.

“I believe it could have gone past its sell-by date in terms of being refurbished, it’s a pity really since it’s a nice bike.

Amazingly, the bike still has many of its features, including the headlights, handlebars, petrol tank and front tyre.

Chris, 51, has lived in his three-bed semi for eight years with daughters Natasha and Scarlett Hopkins – aged 17 and 13, respectively – but says the motorbike has been the most ‘bonkers’ thing he’s ever come across at home.

While the green-fingered dad has no idea how it got there, he said it was interesting to think it could have been a getaway bike hidden by a criminal in order to cover up their crime.

Chris, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said: “I was pretty gobsmacked to find this motorbike in my garden, it’s amazing.

“Looking at it now it looks really good, I just wish I could get it going – that would be brilliant.

“It’s bonkers, we can’t really fathom out who put it there or why they put it there.

“It’s standing up in the hole at the moment. It’s really heavy, and has a steel frame, so I’ll probably need someone to give me a hand to lift it out.

“I’ve no idea how it got there. It’s exciting to think it could have been a getaway bike and some worried criminal buried it decades ago to hide it. Perhaps they forgot about it or then got caught, who knows.

“But now it looks like someone has put a stick of dynamite and blown a hole in my lawn thanks to the size of the hole it’s sat in.”

Chris, who works as a council housing officer, started doing work to improve his garden over the recent April bank holiday weekend.

Hoping to fill some time during lockdown, he spent hours carefully creating a rockery before recruiting his daughters to help him dig for fresh earth from the top end of the garden.

Previous owners had used that space as an area to dump garden waste, which had created a makeshift compost heap, containing nutrient-rich soil.

But after digging down a metre into the soil, Chris, Natasha and Scarlett were surprised to strike metal.

Chris continued: “I’m improving the garden during the lockdown because there’s nothing else to do.

“Me and my daughters bought some plants and we just needed some fresh, clean soil that wasn’t full of weeds.

“I got them to help me because it was a bit of back-breaking exercise.

“We were digging down in the area with fresh soil and filling buckets then I hit some metal and thought it was a bit intriguing so carried on digging.

“We dug down about a metre and found a wheel, initially we thought it might just be a children’s bike thrown away donkey’s years ago.

“After about 15 minutes of digging we sussed out the diameter of the wheel and realised it wasn’t that.

“Then we found different elements of the bike including parts of the engine, the front wheel, headlights, handlebars and chrome work and realised what it was.

“It’s a make called Puch, I’d say it’s certainly late 60s or early 70s by the look of it and what I’ve seen online.

“I think it might have gone past its sell-by date in terms of being renovated, it’s a shame really because it’s a nice bike.

“It would be interesting to find out from a bike enthusiast who could perhaps tell me more about it and see if it’s physically possible to get it working again in the future.”

Chris is still unsure how the bike ended up buried in his garden, having even tried quizzing neighbours (from a safe distance, of course), only for them to also draw a blank.

Chris added: “This is the strangest thing I’ve found while gardening without a shadow of a doubt, I wish I knew why it was buried in my garden.

“I did ask my neighbour who’s been here a long time and he’s not aware of anyone who’s lived in this house who’s owned a motorbike.

“One theory is it was a stolen motorbike that someone crashed through the privet hedge and left, but who knows?

“It’s a mystery as yet, but I’ve still got a bit of digging to do.

“The rockery is looking good, I’m really chuffed with that. If I hadn’t started work on that I wouldn’t have found the bike, it would have just stayed there until someone found it in the future.”