Grading cards initiative launched to tackle bike thefts

Bicycle shops, Thames Valley Police and the Royal Borough council have launched a joint initiative to tackle bike thefts.

Community wardens and community support officers have been supplied with bike grading cards.

They will secure these cards to bikes with a rating of how secure the bicycle is.

On Tuesday, April 22, they were out at Maidenhead Railway Station grading locked up bikes, and at Eton and Riverside Railway Station between 4pm and 6pm the following day.

The card offers advice on locking up bikes, and offers discounts on locks at several bicycle shops.

Windsor-based The Bike Company, 700, and Stows are taking part, along with DNA Cycles in Maidenhead and Wellington Trek from Ascot.

Cllr Geoff Hill, the Royal Borough's cabinet member for highways and transport, said the area has 'excellent' bike storage facilities.

He added: "Unfortunately in the borough we also have people who are on the look-out to steal bikes."

Chief Inspector Lee Townsend, the deputy area commander for Windsor and Maidenhead, said: "A bike can be a very costly item and therefore having the correct lock is critical to prevent it from being stolen."