The weekend before last, on Saturday night or Sunday morning (7–8 September), a new bike was stolen from the common stair at 83 Bellevue Road.
The thick cable attaching it to the stair railings had been cut through.
Bizarrely, in place of the bike there was a roughly 1-foot long section of stair railing from a different stair, which later turned out to be 89 Bellevue Road. Infuriatingly, there appears to be no reason for the railing having been taken, as nothing was attached to it.
If anyone in the area noticed anything suspicious in Bellevue Road around that time, please contact the Police (Tel. 101).
Following other bike thefts in the area of late, residents are advised to be extra-vigilant about making sure stair doors are closed, and to be wary when letting in strangers to the stair.
Although it didn't apply in this case, the general advice is to not to attach bikes to cast-iron railings, but rather to use floor bolts similar to the one illustrated above.
There is more Spokes advice here and London Cyclist advice here. We like the suggestion that cast-iron railings may be worth more than the bikes attached, but doubt whether it's true.
If you have information about recent bike thefts in Broughton, please let us know. We'd like to compile an independent account of what kind of bikes are being targeted, plus when, where and in what sort of properties the thefts are happening. It may be interesting to compare the results with official Police figures.
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