Bike thefts rise 'not a police focus'

An A&E doctor has spoken of his frustration after being told police "could do nothing" to find his stolen bikes, even though they were secured with "gold standard" locks in an area covered by CCTV.

Mike Brooks stopped commuting by bike after two of them were stolen from Cambridge North railway station in the space of a month. In one case the entire bike rack was removed from the ground.

He said: "We're the fifth-richest nation on the planet yet I don't understand why we're having to pick the crimes we follow up."

British Transport Police had 6,000 reports of stolen bikes this year and the number of thefts from railway stations has increased by 40% over four years.

Supt James Sutherland, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "When you compare cycle crime to drug dealing, to knife crime, to child abuse, I think most people understand that's where the police's focus should be and not cycle crime."

You can see more on Inside Out, on BBC One in the East on Monday at 19:30.