Two bike shops ram-raided in possible co-ordinated thefts

Thieves have ram-raided two bike shops within 25 miles in one night, making off with thousands of pounds worth of bikes, in what are believed to be linked thefts.

In midnight ram-raids on the shops, the Specialized Concept store in Nottingham, and Chesterfield Cycle Centre in Chesterfield, thieves stole a number of high-end, rare bikes worth thousands of pounds.

The public are asked to be vigilant of anyone attempting to sell the bikes, and police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

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Nottingham Police report just after midnight in the early hours of Tuesday 15 March, two men drove a stolen Ford Fiesta into the Specialized Concept Store on Nottingham Road, New Basford, stealing two bikes worth £3,000-£3,500 each (images of the bikes are here).

• Bike (white frame): Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp Carbon 6Fattie (Medium)Frame Number: WSBC604269917K
• Bike (orange frame): Specialized Enduro Elite 650b (Large)Frame Number: WSBC601006634K

Officers believe the incident may be linked to the Chesterfield Cycle Centre ram-raid, also in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 16 March, when a van was driven into the front doors of the shop, in Top Road, before thieves took three bicycles, leaving the van at the scene.

Det Sgt James Bond, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We would urge anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at the time of this incident to get in touch.

“We are also asking people to look out for these bikes – which are quite unique in appearance - particularly on selling sites. If you hear of anyone attempting to sell such a bike, we would like to hear from you.”

Chesterfield Cycle Centre employee, Tom Henton, posted images of the bikes, which he says are worth £15,000, on Facebook.

He said: “Let's make these bikes to [sic] hot to handle share please!!”

He says the stolen bikes include a large Yeti sb6c in teal, a medium Yeti sb4.5c in green (both pictured, above) and a Lapierre zesty am 527 carbon.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 6 of 15 March 2016. Alternatively Derbyshire Police on 101 quoting crime reference number 11571-16, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

On the same night, Expert Bike Repair in Rotherham, which is 19 miles North of Chesterfield Cycle Centre, was broken into. Bikes stolen include a red and white Lappierre 214 with dropper post, a black Bergamont hardtail and green Bergamont hardtail.