Avon and Somerset Police have recently returned two stolen bicycles to their original owners as a result of each bike having been marked and registered online.

Worle resident, Callum Clemons, recently had his Carrera Subway mountain bike stolen whilst he was at work. Mr Clemons immediately reported the theft and within 24 hours officers had found and returned his bike after scanning the BikeRegister sticker on the frame. Just a few months ago,

Mr Clemons had attended a bike marking event and registered his bike.

Mr Clemons said: “I was really relieved to get my bike back – I honestly didn’t think it would ever be found.

“I rely on my bike a lot to get to work and I am so glad I got my bike registered as that played a pivotal part in the police getting my bike back to me so quickly.”

PCSO Aisha Mitchell, commented: “It was such a great feeling to have been able to personally return Callum’s bike to him just 24 hours after it had been reported as stolen, particularly as I was the person who helped register his bike just a few months ago.

“Bike marking not only acts as an effective deterrent to thieves, it really does enable us to quickly and easily identify and return seized bikes to their original owners.”

Another Worle resident Diogo Sá reported his bicycle had been stolen on 25 January. Mr Sá’s Cross FXT mountain bike was stolen from Weston-super-Mare town centre when locked up overnight, with the lock having been cut.

Just two days later, on 27 January, officers attended a call at an address in Weston-super-Mare where a member of the public had reported suspicious activity. Upon arrival, officers found two bikes stored in a communal area and used the
BikeRegister app to scan the bikes to ascertain if they were reported as stolen.

Mr Sá had previously attended one of Avon and Somerset Police’s bike marking events in which officers had registered his bike for him on the BikeRegister database and marked his bike with a tamper proof identifiable sticker.

A scan of the bicycles revealed one of them had indeed been stolen and belonged to Mr Sá. Using the details saved on the BikeRegister database, PCSO Victoria Bailey was able to contact Mr Sá and return his bicycle to him.

Mr Sá said: “The BikeRegister scheme is very good and although my bike isn’t worth much it’s very valuable to me as I rely on it for getting to and from work every day.”

PCSO Victoria Bailey added: “It was great to be able to return Mr Sá’s bicycle to him.

“Whilst we are continuing to work hard to tackle bicycle thefts, there are a number of things bicycle owners can do to help prevent themselves becoming a victim of bicycle theft including getting their bikes marked and registered on the BikeRegister database.

“Mr Sá’s case is a brilliant example of the effectiveness of this scheme in allowing us to quickly identify and return seized bicycles to their original owners. I encourage all bike owners to come along to their next nearest bike marking event and get their bikes registered for free.”

Avon and Somerset Police will be holding a growing number of bike marking and crime prevention events this year in an effort to reduce bicycle thefts. At these free events, members of the public can bring along their bikes to be registered on the BikeRegister database and have their bikes discreetly security marked with a tamperproof sticker.

Officers will also be offering the latest crime prevention advice and will be available to discuss any crime-related concerns.

Avon and Somerset Police first started the bike marking security scheme last year and is now the most proactive police force in the country using the BikeRegister scheme, with over 4,000 bikes marked in the past year.

For further information and images contact: Angela Singleton, Press Officer for Selectamark.

Mobile: +44 (0)7905 623819
Email: angela.singleton@selectamark.co.uk
Twitter: @bikeregister