A sudden surge in bike thefts in the borough of Weymouth and Portland in Dorset has lead to concerns that an organised gang is targeting the community, reports the Dorset Echo.
Bikes are currently being lifted at the rate of one per day and the same thieves are thought to have stolen 41 machines in the Weymouth town centre and Westham area alone, says the paper.
The thieves are apparently well equipped and able to break through the locks on bikes secured in public places in very short order. Consequently cyclists are being urged by local police to not only secure their bikes properly but do so in areas covered by CCTV cameras.
Since August, 90 bikes have been stolen in the borough, some of which went missing after raids on people’s homes.
PC Adam Bayliss of Weymouth Police told the Echo: “The selection of bikes appears to have been indiscriminate though the thieves generally appear prepared, with locks and chains being cut.
“Bikes of all values have been stolen including high value cycles, and unique ones. A lot of the thefts have occurred in the afternoon and in busy public areas.”
PC Bayliss added: “Members of the public should be reminded to secure their bicycles in well-lit areas using a good quality lock.
“The town centre does have a large amount of CCTV cameras as do a good proportion of the local shops, and where possible bikes should be secured in view of a camera or in public areas to increase the chance of witnesses.
“The public should remain vigilant to potential bike thieves.”
Vigilance is, of course, always a good deterrent against any kind of criminal activity but given the apparent determination of these criminals, maybe what cyclists in Weymouth and Portland also need is the safest bicycle lock in the world.
While I always have lights on day and night and wear fluro, I have a friend that wears all black all the time and doesn't use lights ever. His...
A sad case, and one with no winners. The driver can thank her lucky stars that the cyclist wasn't more seriously injured and that the court was...
Bloody hell... How are you doing now?
And I liked endura too. Got a nice long sleeve mostly merino long sleeve a little while back, in orange.
No, the Ebay lights have been around for several years, this Lezyne light just appeared.
They shouldn't worry - the second part of the "tariff" refrain is "they can make it in US and they'll do very well".
"At the going down of the sun, it will get in our eyes and cause us to crash into things."
Been living in the area thirty years now and Brixton Cycles (and local riders wearing their famed Rastafarian colours jersey) has been an iconic...
Indeed - but again these are perhaps questions we should keep asking. Even if the immediate answer is "well we are where we are" or "how on earth...