THIEVES have stolen and vandalised a number of bikes at a Southampton train station.
Cyclists have raised their concerns after bikes locked up at Southampton Central Train Station were stolen and taken apart.
Commuters - who pay thousands each year in travel fares - are now calling on the British Transport Police (BTP) and South Western Railway (SWR) to do more to protect their property.
William Roberts, who is well-known across the city for his fancy dress charity rides, is among the victims.
The 49-year-old engineer from Sholing left his £650 bike at the station on February 18 to travel to London for work.
However, when he returned the following Tuesday, its front wheel had been stolen.
The next day the bike was completely gone.
He told the Daily Echo: “Luckily I am using a spare at the moment until I get another.
“But I do worry as I still have to leave the bike on the station, and I know I am not the only one.”
William says that at least six bikes have been damaged or stolen at the station in the last week.
He has documented his findings on his Twitter account with photos.
“I can live with the odd bike going missing, however annoying,” he said. “But six in the past week, when [SWR and BTP] are aware, honestly feels like they do not care.”
BTP has said they have only received three reports of bikes stolen from the station since February 19.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Enquiries into these incidents are ongoing and officers will continue to proactively patrol the station day and night in order to deter bike thieves and any other offenders who may wish to commit crime.
“Anyone who witnesses anything suspicious can text us on 61016, call 0800 40 50 40 or call 999 in an emergency.”
An SWR spokesperson added: “Whilst we can’t comment on individual cases, we take any crime committed on our network extremely seriously.
“Our recently installed cycle area at Southampton Central has space for 140 bikes and the station has extensive CCTV coverage.
“Station teams remain vigilant and continue to carry out security checks throughout the day.”
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