Worthing teen's dismay at stolen bike

Oliver, 13, had left the BMX Blank parked, unlocked, in the cycle rack at his school, St Andrew's in Sackville Road, Worthing, on the morning of Tuesday, January 6.

But when he returned to it at 4pm to cycle home, the bike, worth around 150, was gone.

His mum, Tracie Mills, of Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, said: "He was absolutely gutted. It was his birthday that week, but obviously this made it a really bad week for him.

"You just can't believe somebody would steal from children."

Tracie is now using this experience to urge other children to ensure they always lock up their bike.

She said she has heard of several other occasions when bicycles have been stolen from schools, just since the start of 2009, and believes it could be a big problem.

She said: "If this person, or these people, get a taste for doing this, then they might get more confident.

"I would just encourage children to be more careful and always lock up their bike, and maybe not even take it to school unless they have to."

Ian Straw, learning manager at the school, confirmed a bike was stolen last week. He said: "The theft could be seen on CCTV and it looks like a member of the public.

"Students are advised to lock their bikes and police recently hold a free bike marking session.

"Since September, we have had three bike thefts, and out of those three, one of those bikes was successfully returned to its owner thanks to the hard work of St Andrew's staff who investigated the incident thoroughly."

Sergeant Ian Kerr of Worthing Police confirmed this theft was being investigated, but said only two other bike thefts from schools had been reported in the last two months.

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