CCTV captures man stealing bikes from Eastleigh flats

Lidija Sacree, of Cresbee Court, noticed her £900 electric bike was gone when she left for work on Monday morning.

The 63-year-old relies on her bike to commute to CooperVision, a contact lenses production firm in Chandler's Ford.

When her husband Robert, 67, checked footage from the CCTV camera outside the bike shed, he came across the thief.

Between 10pm on Sunday and midnight on Monday, a man was captured looking at the shed's doors before returning with a bolt cutter.

He then broke into the shed and left with three bikes.

Robert said: “Just the way he walked into the property and looked around to cut the padlock and then came back and just took the bikes, that made me angry.”

CCTV showing a man stealing three bikes (Image: Robert Sacree)

CCTV showing a man making off with one of the stolen bikes (Image: Robert Sacree)

The theft on Toynbee Road was reported to police but as the suspect was not identified, Robert was told the case was "complete".

However, after Robert submitted his CCTV, the case was reopened.

Despite this, Robert says he doesn’t feel confident the thief will actually be caught.

He said: “I don’t have confidence in Eastleigh police at the moment. We don’t have a police station and if you call 101 it takes about an hour to talk to them.

“I was hoping someone would come when I reported but no-one came."

He added: “At this rate trying to find the guy who did it is like trying to catch a bird after it has left the cage.”

Robert Sacree, 67, next to the bike shed (Image: Newsquest)

One of the locks broken during the theft (Image: Newsquest)

Another resident, a 23-year-old woman who asked not to be named, said her husband also had his £350 bike stolen.

She said: "You feel violated because it’s like they come to your safe space and take your things."

Hampshire police says it is investigating a report of a communal bike shed being broken into in Toynbee Road.

The investigation is ongoing.