Crime reduction initiative to deter and prevent bike theft has been introduced on an industrial estate in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Supported by Halton Borough Council and Cheshire Police, the new scheme is launching at Astmoor Industrial Estate and involves the use of BikeRegister kits to security-mark bikes belonging to business owners, staff, visitors and customers.

Astmoor is home to around 100 businesses mainly from the engineering, industrial and manufacturing sectors. Companies such as Howden, AAK Foods, Phoenix Control Systems and Freight First all have units there.

The site is also a Business Improvement District, which means it is a recognised partnership between the local authority and the local business community. The formation of the District allows businesses to select and fund projects that will improve their trading environment and attract further inward investment. As a result, the Executive Committee at Astmoor voted to introduce BikeRegister to counter a recent rise in bike theft in the area.

BikeRegister is a proven system for reducing cycle theft and is being successfully used in crime reduction initiatives throughout the UK.

The BikeRegister marking is simple and quick to apply to the frame of a bike and details of the owner are then placed on the national BikeRegister database (http://www.bikeregister.com).

If a bike is stolen and recovered by police it can be traced via the unique marking back to the owner.

PCSO Mike Atkin from Cheshire Police, who has been involved in setting up the scheme at Astmoor, said: “It has been fantastic working alongside Astmoor BID and Diane Robinson from Halton Borough Council in setting up this initiative. I believe that it will bring piece of mind to both employers and employees on the estate in reducing their fear of crime. I look forward to working in conjunction with Astmoor BID and Halton Borough Council in the future so that we can continue to reduce the crime in the area”.

Diane Robinson, Business Development Officer, Halton Borough Council said: “Bike theft has been on the increase on Astmoor recently so it is excellent that we have been able to implement a scheme that has been used to great effect elsewhere in the UK.  It is such a simple system and we hope that the bike users of Astmoor will come along to our bike registration event in August”.

Signs have been erected around the estate indicating that BikeRegister is in use.

Vince Froggatt,  Chair of Astmoor’s Executive Committee, concluded: “As the popularity of cycling to and from work is still on the increase, it is only right that we support employees on the industrial estate. The hope is that this initiative will continue to encourage people to use cycling as their chosen mode of transport, by making it safer and securer.”

For further press information and images contact: Angela Singleton, Press Officer for Selectamark. Mobile: +44 (0)7905 623 819. Email: [email protected]

For further information and images contact: Jodie Fisher, Marketing Executive for Selectamark.

Phone: +44 (0)1689 487829
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @bikeregister