Sheffield cyclists warned to be extra vigilant following spate of bike thefts

South Yorkshire Police are warning Sheffield’s cyclists to be extra-vigilant about securing their bicycles following a spate of bike thefts in the city centre.

On its website, the force says that levels of reported bike theft in Sheffield are generally low, but August and September saw an increase of nine bicycles stolen in the centre of the city, all of them taken during the daytime.

Inspector Alex Murthi from the City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) said: “Opportunist thieves will not think twice about taking property that is left unattended or insecure."

He continued: “We are urging the public to be vigilant and for cyclists to properly secure their bikes when left unattended.”

“We are working to tackle this issue, with officers from the City Centre SNT increasing both plain clothed and high visibility patrols in key areas to catch and deter any thieves.

“Officers have also been giving out crime prevention advice to the public. We do need the public to help us tackle this issue by following a few simple crime prevention steps given here.”

Among advice police are issuing to cyclists to help thwart thieves are the usual commonsense measures such as using a decent lock (they recommend a D-lock, but a decent, well-rated chain can be just as good, if heavier).

Other recommended security measures include using proper cycle racks rather than lamp posts and the like to secure the bike in a well lit, non-isolated area, having the crossbar stamped with your postcode and registering the bike on the Immobilise database.