Warning after bike thefts increase

The thefts have occurred in broad daylight and police are advising cyclists to leave their bikes in well-used areas and secure them with a strong D-lock.

They also recommend handlebars are stamped with a postcode to make it more difficult for the bike to be sold on and to register it on the national property database Immobilise by entering the frame number at www.immobilise.com.

Inspector Alex Murthi from the City Centre Safe Neighbourhood Team (SNT) said: “Opportunist thieves will not think twice about taking property that is left unattended or insecure.

“We are urging the public to be vigilant and for cyclists to properly secure their bikes when left unattended.

“We are working to tackle this issue, with officers from the City Centre SNT increasing both plain clothed and high visibility patrols in key areas to catch and deter any thieves. Officers have also been giving out crime prevention advice to the public We do need the public to help us tackle this issue by following a few simple crime prevention steps given here.”