Expensive bikes being stolen and stripped for online auctions, warns garda

Expensive, high quality bicycles are being stolen, stripped and sold off in parts on online auction sites, a garda sergeant has warned.

Meath Crime Prevention Officer Sgt Dean Kerins is urging bike owners to engrave their property with their eircode as a deterrent to thieves, especially targeting the higher end of the market.

"Up to 75 bikes are recovered in Meath each year but far more are stolen and never found," he said.

"We advertise the bikes on the Meath Crime Prevention Facebook page but many owners simply don't recognise their own bikes and then they're sent off by gardai to auction rooms and sold off.

With the Bike to Work initiative, people were investing in more expensive bikes and some bikes easily cost in the region of €2000 to €6000.

"I have seen incidents where people are out on Sunday cycles and leave the bike outside a shop to grab a coffee or whatever and within minutes, the bike is gone.

"Those bikes, especially the higher end of the market are stripped and the parts sold off on online auction sites."

Sgt Kerins has recently launched a new poster campaign along with Meath County Council to create awareness of what can be done to protect your bike from thieves.

"People simply don't really take bike security seriously

Some recovered bikes.

"Owners should take note of the bike's serial number which is under the pedals. I also have bicycle ID cards which we have distributed through bike shops and community talks.

"The bike's serial number should be noted and then attached to the house insurance policy.

"In recent times, I've been travelling around local schools in Duleek, Kentstown, Moynalty and Clonard offering to engrave bikes with eircode. The engraver doesn't damage even the carbon or aluminium frames and it's a way of identifying your bike."

Meath Co. Council's Road Safety Officer Michael Finegan, who is also involved in the new bike safe campaign said: "With the increase in numbers of cyclists in Co. Meath in recent years, potential bike theft has become a more concerning issue for bicycle owners.

"The use of higher quality locks by cyclists and a secure method of locking is likely to result in the most significant positive impact on theft numbers in the short term."