EASTLEIGH has been subjected to a substantial rise in bike theft over the past months, which has led BID to launch a campaign to try to help the community keep their bikes safe.

The 'Keep it locked or lose it' scheme was created by Eastleigh BID due to the demand of the community coming to them for help, and it hopes to raise awareness for the issue and provide advice on how to combat it.

One of the main things the scheme offers is cheap D-locks, which are the 'strongest locks available' for bicycles.

Emily Reason, of BID said: " After hearing so many members of the community with the same problem, we had to contact the Police so we could work with them on this problem.

"We were able to buy D-locks from Hampshire Police, which we sell for cheap, we just want to get them out into the public as soon as we can to reduce the potential for bike theft."

The non profit organisation have been selling the D-locks that are usually worth £50 for just £20 in a bid to make them more accessible - they have already sold 50.

Other safety measures include recording your bike's serial number and registering it with schemes such as 'Immobilise' and 'Bike Register'.

Local Eastleigh resident, Linda Bett has been impacted by the increase in bike thefts.

She said: "My son's bike was stolen and we only managed to get it back because it was spotted by someone outside Eastleigh station.

"Since recovering it, he wasn't able to use the bike, while we waited for a much more secure and expensive lock to arrive!"

She added: "I feel the law needs to be much tougher on bike theft."

Hampshire Police are aware of the current situation regarding the frequency of bike thefts in the Eastleigh area and advise people to take every step they can to keep their bikes safe by following the information on their website: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/theft-of-a-bicycle/how-safe-is-your-bike/.