Met Police arrest three in Brick Lane stolen bike crackdown

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of selling stolen bicycles at Brick Lane Market in East London, at the start of a new operation by local police to crack down on the sale of stolen bikes in the area.

Twenty bikes were reported stolen on Brick Lane in the first two months of 2016, and more than 100 in 2015, according to East London Lines, and police say thousands of bikes are sold at the Market each year, many of which are believed to be stolen.

Tower Hamlets Police are now targeting the notorious market to bring to book some of those involved and reduce cycle theft in the area.

3 males arrested by OTF today, during new operation targeting offenders selling stolen bicycles on BRICK LANE MARKET #biketheft #bricklane

— Tower Hamlets MPS (@MPSTowerHam) May 1, 2016

Beginner's guide to bike security—how to stop bike thieves and protect your bike

Of the 17,000 bikes reported stolen across London between 2014-15, more than 1000 were in Tower Hamlets, according to Metropolitan Police statistics.

The London Cycling Campaign’s Amy Summer, said: “Bike theft is sadly a common problem in London but there’s plenty that people can do to help prevent it.

She said bikes need to be marked and registered online to give police the chance to return stolen cycles to their owners, and two good locks should be deployed.

“For the best deterrent you should be using two good locks to secure your bicycle, preferably of two different kinds so that a thief can’t use the same tools on both.”