November 26, 2013 2.14 pm This story is over 124 months old

Thieves take shed apart to steal bike in Lincoln

Lock up: Thieves took apart a shed in Lincoln to steal a bike and the gas cylinder it was chained to.
A recovered Specialized Secteur bike. Photo: Lincolnshire Police

Police are warning residents to make sure their bicycles are properly secured after thieves took apart a shed to steal a bike in Lincoln.

The bike they then went on to steal was locked with a heavy-duty chain to a gas cylinder. Thieves simply carried the cycle away with the gas canister.

Lincolnshire Police said this offence happened earlier in the week, when the side of a shed was removed as thieves could not get through door locks.

Cycle theft is a big issue within Lincoln, which is why police are offering advice on protecting a bike, or tips to properly secure a shed.

Lincoln Cycle Crime Officer PC Matt Roberts said: “The owners of valuable racing and mountain bikes need to be alert to the fact that cycle thieves will go to great lengths to steal them.

“Offenders may follow the owners of cycles to their home addresses and return later in hours of darkness to burgle sheds and garages.

“We have recently seen thieves remove walls from sheds, damage garage doors by prising them up and more commonly, simply entering unlocked sheds and garages stealing bikes worth thousands of pounds.

“A shed alarm is a cheap and effective way to protect your shed or garage and it will immediately deter thieves. External security lights are also extremely effective.

“Using a quality D Lock to secure your bike to something solid when stored in your garage or shed prevents thieves from simply carrying it away.

“Fitting a security device such as an Immobitag into your bike frame gives your cycle an electronic identity that police can readily scan and identify.

“The market for stolen bikes is huge and it is very difficult for the police to detect these crimes once they have happened.

“Thieves will dismantle expensive bikes and sell the component parts on the internet. They also professionally re-powder coat frames to sell on.

“Cycle owners need to make it as hard as they can for thieves to enter, remove and sell their bikes.

“Lincolnshire Police has bought an amount of Sold Secure rated D-locks and Immobitags at discounted prices of up to 75% for the public to purchase.

“D-locks are available from the Town Enquiry Office at West Parade Police Station in Lincoln for £15 and Immobitags, usually retailing at £14.95, are on sale for £4.50.”

However, police are managing to recover a number of bikes, such as the pictured Specialized Secteur bike.

Officers are asking for the owner of the bike to get in touch, as it is thought the owner may not have reported the theft due to being away on holiday at the time of the incident.

It is believed to have been taken from a shed or garage in October in the south of Lincoln, and had distinctive features only the owner will know.