A BBC foreign correspondent says her world has “got smaller and slower” after her cargo bike – which has become iconic among cyclists and climate news enthusiasts in recent years thanks to its role as a mobile newsroom – was stolen by thieves last week.

Anna Holligan, a BBC reporter based in the Netherlands, has been a regular fixture on road.cc’s live blog thanks to her cargo bike-based Dutch News from the Cycle Path videos on social media.

Doing pretty much exactly what they say on the tin, these videos show Holligan putting her broadcasting (and cycling) skills to entertaining and informative use, presenting followers with a daily news round-up in the most Dutch way possible – while cycling on a cycle path.

The conduit for these clips was her ‘bike bureau’, a €5,000 e-cargo bike she purchased in 2020, later revamping it for work purposes after her daughter asked why she couldn’t just report the news from their morning school run.

Developed in 2023 with the help of colleague Kate Vandy, then a senior foreign news journalist at the BBC, the cargo bike was retrofitted with a pop-up desk, solar panels, internet access, attachments for cameras, microphones, and lights, as well as places to store coffee pots and mugs, an “on-air” red light box for broadcasting, and space for her daughter, who frequently co-starred in Holligan’s videos.

“The bike allowed me to reach breaking news scenes and broadcast live from anywhere, my daughter by my side, showing that working motherhood could be visible, joyful, and real,” Holligan said this week.

“It opened doors to collaborations, awards, and a community of people who saw themselves in our story.”

However, last Monday, Holligan revealed that the cargo bike had been stolen, after she discovered that the double lock which had bolted it to her apartment’s wall had been hacked through by thieves.

“To the person who stole our bike, you didn’t just steal a bike, you stole our freedom to move freely and effortlessly around the city,” she said in an Instagram video.

“I realise there are far bigger problems in the world, wars, climate change, and I used my bike to cover them for BBC News. You have stolen that. We don’t have a car, the bike was integral to our lives.”

The journalist said she called the local police immediately, but confirmed that they closed the case shortly afterwards due to a lack of worthwhile evidence. However, Holligan did praise the empathy shown by the officers dealing with her report, noting that “they treated the case like I’d lost a pet”.

“I remember the moment I discovered the bike had been taken, it was like there was a huge empty space on the pavement and a gaping hole in my life,” Holligan told road.cc on Monday.

“Over the week that followed, after I reported to the police and the insurance company, my world has got smaller, and slower as a result of not having a bike at my fingertips.”

Since the theft and her social media appeal, Holligan says her local community have rallied around to try to find her stolen bike, telling her how much they enjoyed seeing her embrace the Dutch approach to cycling, while the online response has underlined the power of cycling to inspire a different way of living and working.

“The reaction has been overwhelming,” she tells road.cc. “It has shown me how much people loved the innovative bike bureau, but also how much they connected with Dutch News from the Cycle Path and enjoyed the uplifting, nature-based news by bike content creation.

“So if there’s anything positive to come from this, I hope it will be a renewed sense of mission and purpose in my work.”

Bike theft is on the rise in the Netherlands, a concerning stat often attributed to the growing popularity of e-cargo bikes like Holligan’s bike bureau. In 2024, over 86,000 bikes were reported stolen in the country, 1,000 up on the previous year, and 10,000 more than 2023.

“Many people empathise because bike theft is a common issue in the Netherlands but, in my case, the loss is felt more widely due to its public profile,” Holligan said on Instagram.

“I know we are probably not going to get our bike back, but I’m recording this for anyone who’s thinking about taking something that isn’t theirs. And I want you to pause and just think about the real impact that you’ll be having.”

> BBC journalist corrects cargo bike critics, points out it “replaced my car” and saved “£1,000 in fuel”

Last year, Holligan was forced to defend her transport choice, following a host of spurious and, at times, strangely critical comments were posted about her use of the cargo bike to cover a climate protest at the Hague.

While reporting on a climate demonstration in the city, where Greta Thunberg was arrested twice, Holligan shared a photo of her on her bike, asking: “Is there any other way to cover a climate protest?”

Such was the response to the post, the BBC foreign correspondent soon penned several others, addressing comments about the cost of the model of cargo bike and clarifying that no, her employer had not paid for it either.

“I don’t usually bother with this stuff but… I see people suggesting the BBC has somehow indulged me because I’m riding a £7,000 bike,” she wrote. “I feel compelled to set the record straight on a couple of points.

“This is my personal bike. I paid for it. It hasn’t cost the BBC a penny. I bought it in 2020 to do two 10km daily school runs. At the time the bike cost me around £4,000. Yes, it’s a lot of money. This bike has replaced my car.

“I discovered it was a great tool for news gathering and reporting too. Over the last four years, I’ve cycled 15,000km. This would have cost more than £1,000 in fuel. Some of which I could have claimed as expenses. Using my bike costs the BBC nothing. The end.”