A recent crime data report from the British Transport Police (BTP) has shown that St Albans City Station has the highest rate in bicycle theft in the UK from 2016 to 2019.
After a BBC freedom of information (FOI) request, figures show that St Albans City Station had the highest amount of theft, with a total of 262 bikes stolen from 2016 to 2019, 74 bikes more than Bedford Midland, who placed second with 188 stolen bikes.
Oxford placed seventh with 137 bikes stolen over the past three years and Birmingham New Street came in eighth with 134 bikes stolen.
The shared data analysed from the BTP showed 16,725 bikes had been stolen from 1,245 railway and London Underground stations over the past three years.
St Albans man Jason Wills, 50, who began cycling to raise money for charities supporting his diabetic daughter had his bike stolen in October of last year.
The father of two cycles three miles from his home to St Albans City Station, where he commutes to London two to three times a week.
Speaking to the BBC, Jason said: “I was emotionally attached to it because it was a present from my wife and that bike had been to Paris and done Nightrider three times.
“My space had been violated. I used the bike to raise quite a lot of money for charity to help my daughter and it was ripped from me.”
A spokesman for BTL told the BBC: “Unfortunately, bicycles remain a popular target for opportunistic thieves.
“To help prevent crime, we urge cyclists to invest in good quality D-locks and ensure their bikes are securely marked and registered at bikeregister.com”
Photo courtesy of BBC, sourced by British Transport Police
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