Cyclists warned to take care after bike stolen from Aylesbury Vale Parkway station
The Bucks Council worker had locked her bike in the station hut.
Thames Valley Police say bike thefts across Aylesbury Vale are down on last year.
On Saturday Megan Walker left her bike at the Aylesbury Vale Parkway station rack and within 30 minutes of her getting on the train it was taken.
Megan, an Enforcement Officer for Buckinghamshire Council, says its been hard to deal with:
"At the station they have a designated bike rack, and its really well lit. They also have CCTV footage, so I trusted that it wouldn't get stolen.
"I had a lock and wherever i went I made sure to lock it as close to the frame as I could but you never predict you'll be a victim of bike theft.
"It's been really hard to process over the last few days because I've had the bike for 5 years. It's taken me through college, university and now a global pandemic.
"I use it for transport around town so it has changed my lifestyle overnight and I am still trying to process my frustration and anger I feel towards the offenders.
"Everyone is going through it this year with the global pandemic, and we are all trying to be resourceful. But I think it is disgusting that people would want to take someone else's possession from them."
CCTV shows offenders approaching the bike, and within minutes they were able to get through the lock.
Nick Perks is a Neighbourhood Sergeant in Aylesbury:
"The recent offensive have been in keeping with the trends from previous years, with a slight increase over summer and autumn months. However, we have seen less incidents than in 2019 and 2018 so far.
"As a cyclist myself I understand that each and every offence will have a huge impact on the individual victim.
"The main challenge with bike thefts is many take place without witness or CCTV and when we do recover bikes its frustrating when they aren't registered because we cant return them to owners."
Both Megan and Sgt Perks have recommended cyclists take extra precaution when leaving their bikes, these include:
- Leaving the bike in a well lit area, ideally with CCTV
- Locking your bike to an immovable object, ideally two locks through the body of the bike and the wheels
- Taking removable parts like the seat with you
- Registering your bike
- Taking pictures of the bike, specifically any unique features