Lewis Oliva: Cyclist's stolen Olympic shoes found in alley
- Published
Rob Davies (centre) found the shoes and handed them over to PC Alex Reed and PC Stephen Westlake
Shoes stolen from a professional cyclist that he wore at the Olympics have been found dumped in an alley.
The shoes, belonging to Welsh Cycling sprinter Lewis Oliva, were stolen at about 17:00 GMT on Tuesday from his car which was parked on St Angela Road in Cardiff, close to the University Hospital of Wales.
The footwear was found by a member of the public on Wednesday.
South Wales Police is in the process of returning the shoes to Mr Oliva.
Following the theft, an appeal was made on Twitter by his partner and double European team pursuit champion, Ciara Horne.
Police said a sports bag containing the shoes were on the passenger seat of a black Volvo.
They were found less than 24 hours later in an alleyway off Whitchurch Road, just a few hundred metres from where the theft happened.
The Olympic shoes were stolen from Mr Oliva's car
An eyewitness took a picture of the car after the theft
Eyewitness Jon Antoniazzi, who was was returning from a meeting at the hospital when the thief struck, said: "It was pretty dark. I was going back to my car [and] there was a bloke loitering around.
"I thought 'this looks a bit dodgy'. I got into my car and the next thing I knew he was running down the road. It happened so quickly.
"I called the police straight away. I gave them a description; he was wearing a black puffa jacket and jeans. I only saw him from behind."
Lewis Oliva rides for Team USN
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The incident comes as figures were released about the number of vehicles broken into.
South Wales Police did not provide details to the Freedom of Information request by the RAC Foundation.
Dyfed-Powys Police had 549 reports of break-ins in 2016, up 23% on the last 12 months, but lower than the previous two years.
The hike was the joint-third highest of all forces in England, Wales and Scotland.
There were 552 reports made to Gwent Police, which was up 11% and has risen year-on-year since 2013.
North Wales Police had the highest number of break-ins in Wales but has also seen the biggest fall.
There were 1,187 crimes in 2016, down 10% on 2015 and a fall of nearly 600 on 2013.
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