Fareham pub The Delme Arms CCTV captures brazen thieves making off with £5,000 worth of 'irreplaceable' bikes padlocked outside

Keen cyclists Kevin Joe Walling and Philip West had cycled from their homes in Emsworth to The Delme Arms in Cams Hill on Thursday afternoon, April 7, when the thieves struck.

At around midday, CCTV from the pub appears to show two boys break a padlock used to secure the bikes – which are worth more than £5,000 in total.

One of the bikes – a grey De Rosa Idol, worth more than £3,000 – is no longer in production and is ‘irreplaceable’, according to owner Kevin.

The 71-year-old said: ‘Phil and I for the last ten years have been going out every Thursday, on a 30-mile circular route.

‘We were going to the Queen’s Head in Gosport.

‘That day we pitched up to The Delme Arms quite early at about 12 o’clock. We had a couple of beers. We were leaving just after the theft took place – I looked outside and thought, “well, we’re not going to Gosport”.

‘I may have said a few profanities – my friend wanted to remove someone’s spleen and introduce it to their diet.

Kevin said a social media posting showing the CCTV footage, uploaded by a pub staff member, had drawn a ‘fantastic response’ from the community wanting to help.

He added: ‘And the police have been great. It looks like it was part of several linked thefts. It looks like it was an organised crime.

Sarah Matthews, who runs The Delme Arms alongside her husband Neil, said she posted the CCTV footage after being shocked by the brazen nature of the theft.

The 32-year-old said: 'It's so brazen.

‘I was pretty shocked - we are on a main road, there are passers-by around.

‘I thought, “how dare you”.

‘You can see that something was passed between them and they seem to cut the lock on the bikes.’

Yesterday The News reported how angry mum Katharine Barker had a £2,000 bike stolen while in Commercial Road, Portsmouth, after a youth came up and grabbed it.

No arrest have been made at present and enquiries are on-going, according to a spokeswoman from Hampshire Constabulary.

She said: ‘It was reported that at around 3.40pm on Thursday 7 April, two pedal cycles, a grey De Rosa Idol and a black Bianchi Intrepida were stolen from outside The Delme Arms on Cams Hill.

‘Both bikes were locked together to a metal pipe outside the main entrance.

‘Anyone who witnessed anything suspicious or is offered for sale a bike matching these descriptions should call us on 101 quoting reference 44220137359.’