Words by Adam Smith
Kingstanding Police are offering free cycle security marking after a spate of robberies of mountain bikes from youngsters in the area.
Bike owners are being invited to Kingstanding Police Station this Saturday to get their property marked and be added to a national register which will reunite them with their bike if recovered after being stolen.
Last week, Rebecca Hurley’s child was robbed at knife point for his bike in Dovedale Road.
Appealing for information on Facebook the mother, who shared pictures of the bike and CCTV footage of the robbery, said: “The damage these people have done to my son’s confidence is unbelievable, it’s heart breaking.
“They robbed him at knife point just off Dovedale Road. They ragged him around but he’s not hurt just really shook up. They tried to steal his phone as well but he managed to get away on the back of the bike.”
She added: “I have since found out these people had robbed two other boys at knife point in the area.”
The Facebook appeal was successful and the bike was returned to the boy after a woman who had bought it for £35 this weekend got in touch with the family.
Mrs Hurley said: “I can’t thank people enough for sharing my post as he has his bike back. These lads robbed my son for £35! They need to be stopped.”
Throughout the summer there have several other bike thefts from children in Kingstanding and Erdington.
The police have teamed up with national cycle database BikeRegister to help bike owners get their cycles marked with permanent security markings.
In a message to residents, Kingstanding Police team said: “We have obtained a limited number of bike security kits from BikeRegister and you like to offer you the opportunity to pop into Kingstanding Police Station on Saturday, September 19th, whereby, we will apply the kits to your pedal cycle.
“We will then register you FREE of charge to our approved provider BikeRegister.”
Anyone interested should email their name, telephone number, address, bike make, model and frame number to [email protected]
Local cyclists will then be given a time slot on Saturday 19th September to visit the station.
How to mark you bike with a BikeRegister kit
To find out more about BikeRegister, visit www.bikeregister.com
For more on the Kingstanding Police team, including non-emergency contact information, visit www.west-midlands.police.uk/node/2711b