Quick feet and CCTV used to recover two stolen bikes

One of the recovered bikes

Police officers in Mansfield have used a mixture of speed and detective work to return two stolen bikes in the space of a week.

The first was recovered by a speedy patrol officer who was alerted to a theft in Mansfield Town Centre on Thursday October 31.

He then chased a suspect along West Gate before cornering him in a nearby alleyway and recovering the bike.

A 49-year-old man was then arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.

The second was taken from outside a gym in Nottingham Road at around 8.30pm on Monday.

After collecting and viewing CCTV footage from local cameras, an officer was able to trace the bike back to a nearby location and identify a potential suspect.

The bike has now been returned to its grateful owner and investigations are ongoing.

Sergeant Catherine Darby, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“The combined value of these bikes was well over £2,000 and the owners were understandably relieved to get them back.

“Both officers in these cases did a great job – one displaying his speed and fitness and the other her keen eye for detail.

“We understand that people’s bikes are important to them and will always do what we can to retrieve them when they are stolen in this way.”

Officers will be holding a pre-emptive day of action targeting cycle theft on Saturday 16 November when they will be outside Mansfield Library and at Sainsbury's  marking bikes and adding them to the national Bike Register, which makes it easy to tract stolen items.

The marking is free and will be running between 10am and 2pm.

More details about the BikeRegister scheme can be found here: The National Cycle Database | BikeRegister.