Fifty bikes stolen every week in Southampton

4:30pm Friday 2nd December 2011 in Southampton Photograph of the Author By Jenny Makin, Crime Reporter

Fifty bikes stolen every week Fifty bikes stolen every week

FIFTY bicycles are being stolen every week by thieves operating in Southampton .

They are targeting sheds, garages and outbuildings at people’s homes across the city as well as bikes left in shopping areas and railway stations.

Police say that determined bike snatchers are behind an average of seven thefts every day – going equipped with tools so they can help themselves to even locked-up bikes.

The problem has grown so much that police are now carrying out dedicated operations to target the thieves.

In one of the most recent successes, officers stopped a cyclist in Shirley and found that the bike he was riding was stolen. When they searched him, they found he was carrying bolt croppers.

It’s thought that while some bikes are being offered for resale to make money, others are simply being lifted to use as a mode of transport between one part of the city and another.

Other stolen bikes – some worth hundreds of pounds – are being taken apart or broken up so that parts can be used on other cycles.

As part of the crackdown, cycle shops across the city are being contacted in the run-up to Christmas to encourage staff to give customers crime prevention advice when they buy a bike.

Cyclists are also being urged to obtain a coding kit from police, so that their bike can be identified and returned to them if it is recovered.

Insp Phil Scrase, from Bitterne police station, is leading the crackdown.

He said: “This is a growing problem that we need your help to tackle. Many of those involved in doing this are also connected to other areas of criminality and use these bikes as a form of currency or transport to commit crime.

Don’t let your bike help them do this.

“Many of these cycles are of substantial value in financial terms, and costly to replace. Irrespective of the cost, they are a mode of transport and can prevent someone going to work or otherwise getting around.”

If you have any information about bike thefts, or have been offered a bike for sale, call police in Bitterne on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Comments(13)

Mr sheep says...
4:54pm Fri 2 Dec 11

wouldnt be suprised if its some one from redbridge or milbrook area , had my bike nicked out the garden very first day I moved in , gets me if you see some one with bolt cutters why havent they been challenged by the police? oh yes I remeber what I was told , its not a serious enougth crime

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SotonLad says...
5:41pm Fri 2 Dec 11

The people the buy these stolen bikes are just as bad, if not worse, than the ones nicking them. Supply and demand!

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SotonLad says...
5:43pm Fri 2 Dec 11

How many of us know the serial number of our bikes? Doesn't take 2 mins to scribble it down and take a photo of the bike. Very little chance of getting it back otherwise!

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The Outside Edge says...
6:43pm Fri 2 Dec 11

I wish Royston would steal one and go on a very long ride,,,,,the Hebrides are nice this time of year Royston.

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G0Rf says...
7:41pm Fri 2 Dec 11

New housing development on Winchester road paid for £400 bikes for all new residents with nice locks....what did they do?... Broke into the bike shed and cut through the metal bars the bikes were locked to and took the lot of them!

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blackjack6522 says...
8:19pm Fri 2 Dec 11

My Daughter who goes to eastleigh college locked her bike in the same place as she locked it before for the last 3mths and when she came out of college it had gone and the college did't have C.C.T.V in that area ! So why have bike racks ????

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Reality-man says...
11:12pm Fri 2 Dec 11

Has anyone looked in Bejing?

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Condor Man says...
1:09am Sat 3 Dec 11

I've noticed that my Giant bike only lasted 3 days whilst the cheap replacement from Halfords has lasted 6 months.

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teamgreen says...
9:57am Sat 3 Dec 11

2 years ago my bike was nicked from outside the bargate at 12.30 pm.a shop keeper phoned the police after seeing two youths with bolt croppers.the police turned up and as i was phoning the police the fat copper wouldn't get out of his van because it was raining.they were walking up through the high street but the cctv was not facing that way but cameras from the shops showed them walking away with the bolt croppers on his shoulders.when i reported it the form given was so out of date that i could not fill it i had to change things.the copper said you wont see that again thats gone to st marys or in millbrook by now.the bike was never found and i was told to claim of my insurance.even the letters from the police had mistakes on them and they forgot to ring me back to speak to a inspector about the the lazy copper, but when i went in and moaned and shouted at him i was told he would be told off and we have failed you so we are sorry.went back to the lost property office 6 months later to see if it was found and got told after three months we sell them on via other outlets.not best pleased was one way of putting it.

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Beer Monster says...
10:29am Sat 3 Dec 11

I lose on average about one bike a year to thieves.

This years statistic came as a present to one of them from ABP after they effectively dumped all the bikes which were locked up on a rack during the rennovation of Town Quay.

Funnily enough, I once had Kent Police phone me that they had spotted one of my stolen bikes, unfortunately they could not retrieve it because it was in France!

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derek james says...
9:24am Sun 4 Dec 11

can't see why so many people buy mountain bikes with their wide tyres they need twice as much effort to make them move and with fashionable names like giant, saracen etc are a magnet for thieves, the cheap ones like apollo aren't worth a candle.better off with sturmey archer 3 speed type touring bike and narrow tyres, unlikely to get stolen as well

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Goldenwight says...
11:16am Sun 4 Dec 11

If theives steal 50 bikes every week, could not the owners of those 50 bikes secure them better? Then the thieves might clear off and steal someone else's bikes instead.

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Minger1 says...
3:51pm Sun 4 Dec 11

when 1 of my sons was at school he had 2 bike stolen in 2 weeks. he had pins put in his hips for a birth defect only weeks before and he had to rely on his bike to get him around as he was told he was not allowed to walk far so had to use crutches or his bike so when the 1st bike was stolen i when into shirley police station to report it, as it wasn't a bike that could be bought in any shop as my eldest son worked at Stride in Totton building bikes so he bought the frame and everything to go on it seperate and the chain wasn't even silver it was gold coloured, when i came out the police station i went into cash converters and bought him another bike, couldn't afford really as on benefits buit all bills were paid and we had food, i went back into the police station after buying the bike and showed the copper and asked if he could take a picture of it, he didn't but it was noted in the info, and a week later that was stolen from the grounds of oaklands which is now oasis lordshill, it was even locked with a good lock but the school did not have anything on cctv as the bike sheds were not monitored, i couldn't afford to get him another bike so he had to stay at home or use his crutches which was comfortable for his hands, the copper contacted the echo and we had an article in the echo but we still have not seen either bike since, the lordshill lot took those bikes to sell on, i know someone that, that these kids keep knocking his door asking if he wants to buy a bike.

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