Gardai concerned at 'upward trend' of bike thefts in Limerick
GARDAI are warning they have seen a large increase in the theft of bikes in Limerick recently.
Divisional crime prevention officer Sergeant Ber Leetch says the upward trend is a concern and she is appealing to bike owners to be vigilant.
"Bicycles were taken recently from O’Connell Avenue, Bedford Row and UL. These bicycles were all locked to an immovable object. Then other bicycles were taken from gardens or sheds in Adare, Huntsfield and May Park in Dooradoyle," she said.
The garda advice is that two different types of lock are needed to be sure that your bike is safe and its also recommended that the locks are kept off the ground.
"You must consider the value of the bicycle that you are protecting and be prepared to spend some money on two good quality locks. This advice also applies when you are storing your bicycle at home, never leave it in your garden, always bring it into your shed or garage," said Sgt Leetch.
Good standard and robust locks should be used on garden sheds and, where appropriate, homeowners should consider alarming their sheds and locking their bikes to a ground anchor for extra security.
Gardai are also appealing to cyclists and bike owners to mark their bikes with a unique code such as an eircode and to take photos and keep records of their bikes serial number as this will help identify them if stolen.