Crooks log on to sell off stolen city bikes

Officers have arrested and charged one alleged thief with selling 28 bikes on Gumtree after they were stolen from Portobello and Leith.

The suspect, who is in his early 20s, was traced after one of the bike owners contacted police. He had spotted his cycle being offered for sale on the website.

One of the stolen bikes being sold online was worth 4000, but the alleged thief was often selling them for a fraction of their real value.

Officers today advised anyone whose bike is stolen to look on internet sites where second-hand goods are sold in a bid to identify their property.

Police are able to liaise with website bosses to trace e-mail, phone numbers and other personal details belonging to thieves and track them down.

The warning comes as a new survey suggests that Edinburgh has the second worst bike theft rating in the UK, behind only Sheffield.

Pc Keith Young, from Gayfield police station, said: "The person who saw his stolen bike on Gumtree was looking for his property as he knew so many bikes are sold on it. We have contacts at Gumtree and were able to trace the seller. His information showed the victim's bike was put up for sale online the same day it was stolen.

"We found the seller had offered a total of 50 different bikes for sale and we were able to identify 28 as having being stolen.

"The bikes were worth anything between 100 and 1500, but one was worth 4000. However, the seller was offering them for much less than their true value."

A record number of bikes were stolen in Edinburgh in the last year. Around five cycles a day were taken in the Capital between April last year and March, an 18 per cent rise on the previous year despite drives by the force to encourage owners to improve bike security.

Pc Young said: "Sites like Gumtree and eBay are becoming more popular ways to sell on stolen property.

"We would encourage people to check the sites for their own property, and also to ensure that they report any thefts to police so we have the details."

Ian Maxwell, spokesman for cycle group Spokes, said police advice to check online sales sites was "very sensible", and added: "The sale of second hand bikes has always been slightly risky and online sales only make that more so. Sites like Gumtree can be a ready market for stolen bikes and anything we can do to discourage thefts and make cyclist safer is welcomed."

A Gumtree spokesman said: "We regularly work with the police to help convict those that use the internet in this way."