Portsmouth bike theft ‘pandemic’ leaves residents ‘gutted’ - as one man loses £2,500 ebike while watching Portsmouth FC

David Hall was left feeling ‘disappointed’ and ‘gutted’ when he left the Fratton stadium, after watching Portsmouth play, to find that his bike had been stolen.

The 65-year-old said that he would not usually cycle from his Bedhampton home to watch the football, but due to train strikes, he decided to take his electric bike out for a spin.

He had locked the rare Khalkoff Endeavour 3 bike in a ‘secure’ car park in Rodney Road on October 8 but the thieves are thought to have been equipped with bolt cutters.

Mr Hall said that the CCTV shows two men cutting the lock off of his bike and that he has reported the theft to the police.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: ‘Officers are carrying out enquiries. Were you in the area at the time? Did you see anyone acting suspiciously? Perhaps you were driving in the area and have dash-cam? Anyone with any information is asked to call us on 101 quoting reference 44220409979.’

He said: ‘It is a pandemic and the police don’t seem to care, and if you consider how much the bikes are worth it is tens of thousands and it is happening every day.

‘The stupid thing is that without the battery, it is just useless, they would get about 30 or 50 miles and that would be the end of it because they don’t have the battery or the lock to use a battery.

‘It is not just about me, it is about what is happening to lots and lots of people losing lots of expensive bikes and for some people it is their only means of transport.’

The theft ‘pandemic’ has not only targeted David and there is now a dedicated Facebook group for victims of bike theft across Portsmouth who are searching for their possessions.

Jason Steel said: ‘It seems like a small crime, but when it’s your bike, it’s really annoying as bikes are expensive now, especially in cost of living crisis.’

David Bailey said: ‘The fact that they are happy in broad daylight to stand there cutting a lock shows the arrogance of these individuals. Their actions need to have consequences. The laws we have offer no tools to the police to catch and deal with them so guess what they don’t bother.’

Paul Marston said: ‘There is little to nothing done about bike theft in the area. Police informed us during our call to report the theft, that no action would be taken. These thieves act without fear of getting caught, and even if they are, no charges will be brought.

‘This is serious organised crime in some cases, and they will stop at nothing.’

Aidan Frost said: ‘Since having mine taken and joining these groups it really annoys me to see how many get taken daily.’

People across the city are growing more and more frustrated at the theft that is sweeping through the city and due to the cost of living, many do not have sufficient funds to buy an expensive lock or deterrent to protect their bike.