Five push bikes were stolen in one night from a family’s garage in Top Valley.
The bikes were taken in the early hours of Tuesday, February 21, from Sid Hart’s property on Glenorchy Crescent.
Sid has been modifying bikes and selling them on for a profit since he was ten years old, and does it with his son Andrew, 26, as a side project.
Andrew, who lives down the road with his girlfriend, Donna, said his dad is “really gutted”.
Andrew says Sid, who is in his sixties, used to build bikes in his garage every Saturday and Sunday but hasn’t been in the garage since the thieves struck.
“He’s lost interest,” Andrew said, “He was crying and it’s not like my dad to cry. He’s gutted.”
Parts of bikes and tools were also taken and the family is offering reward of £1,000 if anyone finds the bicycles.
Andrew added: “I like to keep parts of bikes. Hydraulic brakes were taken and they were all hung up in the garage.
“There were tools, strap-on tools and they’re worth a lot of money. Pumps, spare wheels, forks.”
The theft comes as Notts Police deal with more than 100 reports of stolen bikes a month – although the figure is falling.
Force figures show there were 122 bike thefts in Notts in January 2015 which reduced to 106 in January 2016 – a drop of 13.1 per cent.
Andrew said his mum discovered the garage was open, with the locks forced off, at 6.30am.
He added: “Everything was trashed in the garage, everything was ripped out.
“They’d [the thieves] obviously used bags out of the garage, rucksacks to put all the parts in. There were front forks taken, just general bits and bobs.”
The bikes include a white and blue Carrera Kraken Mountain Bike, with 27.5-inch wheels and hydraulic breaks. The bike is distinctive as it has different disc brakes at the front and back.
The others include a half-modified black and white Specialized Hardrock Mountain Bike with half its brake cables, a brand new red and grey Specialized Hardrock Mountain Bike, a B’Twin Rockrider Mountain Bike and a black, white and blue Claud Butler bike with 20-inch wheels.
Andrew said he was planning to stay at his parents’ house and store his own bike and his step-son’s in the garage the night of the theft – but fortunately chose not to.
Andrew said: “I would’ve been fuming if my step-son’s bike got stolen as well. They’ve left my dad with one bike.
“He’s furious, mortified. He’s lost everything.”
No arrests have been made and anyone with any information should contact Notts Police on 101, quoting incident number 75 on February 21.
