Burglars broke into a secure garage to steal £6,500 worth of community bikes used by Woodvale and Ai
Volunteers at Woodvale and Ainsdale community association were shocked to discover that 11 of their bikes had been taken from the secure lock-up, which is on police property.
Mountain bikes which Everton FC legend Duncan Ferguson helped to buy for a community group were stolen from Ainsdale police station.
Burglars broke into a secure garage which is just yards from the station, where the bikes were put for safe keeping. The haul was worth around £6,500.
Ted Hartill, who is a volunteer at WACA, said: “We were obviously shocked by the theft. We went to pick the bikes up on Monday, ahead of a trip to Delamere Forest this week. We have now been forced to cancel the trip. And there were plans to visit North Wales too.”
The burglars stole four Cannondale trail SL3 bikes, six Landrover Kiakass bikes and one giant Talon bike.
Mr Hartill, who is former community police officer, explained to the Visiter that six of the stolen bikes were bought with Mr Ferguson’s money. He added: “I launched a mountain bike section at WACA after Duncan Ferguson donated £10,000.
‘‘We bought ten bikes with the money, and then Constable Mike Holmes and I went on mountain bikes courses. We then launched the ‘Merseyside Police mountain bike reward scheme.’ The concept was to reward kids for good behaviour. All the schools in Southport and Formby signed up, and we went on to win a string of awards.”
It is thought the burglars prised open a window frame and then pulled out metal bars. The gang would have been forced to take the wheels off the bikes to get them through the window frame. The thieves stole the 11 most expensive bikes.
Mr Hartill, who grew up in Ainsdale, added: “I cannot begin to say how I feel about whoever stole these bikes. I am sure most people can imagine.
‘‘This is a great loss to our community centre and is such a sickening crime. The stolen bikes were for use by young members of our community who can mostly not afford their own bikes of this quality. What the future holds for the mountain bike project is not known as of yet.
‘‘The summer holidays will be here soon and this was always a big time for the MTB section. The bikes were all fitted with immobilise chips. I can only hope the thieves are caught.”
A police spokesman confirmed the force was investigating. The spokesman said: “The offender or offenders are believed to have entered a disused library which backs onto the garage then forced open a window at the back of the unit and removed a metal bar across it to get access.
“Once inside they stole eleven mountain bikes, each worth between £450 and £900. The burglary was reported on Monday afternoon by a member of Woodvale and Ainsdale Community Association which own the bikes and have sole use of the lock-up unit in which they were being stored.’’
Anyone with details about the stolen bikes is urged to call West Sefton neighbourhood team on 0151 777 3449 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Story and Photo Source: Southport Visitor
