Bike theft: bad news/good news

Hampshire police recently sent out this alert…

Since the beginning of September there have been a number of burglaries to both homes and outbuildings on Hayling Island.
On the 03/9/2015 there were 2 dwelling burglaries in St Peters Road, Northney which are believed to be linked. These locations appear to have been targeted once the owners had left the property. Police suspect that the offenders were in the area in the days before to ascertain peoples regular movements so they knew when to commit the crimes.

Between the 1st September and 14th September there have been two other non-dwelling burglaries in Havant Road and Island Close. The suspect has stolen a pedal cycle and tools using force on both occasions to gain access to a shed an garage.

In the South of the Island there have been 3 non-dwelling burglaries and pedal cycles have been the main target. In Fathoms Reach and the Sea Front force has been used to gain entry to a shed and garage. There is nothing that specifically links these matters beside the fact pedal cycles have been stolen.

This was backed-up by a report from Cycle Hayling supporter David Noakes…

Ridley bike stolen from Fathoms Reach in what seems to be a targeted theft. Garage forced during storm to cover noise, only the bike taken.

We’ve now had an update from the Police…

I recently updated you with burglary issues on Hayling Island. Since this time I am pleased to report a number of successes. The two linked burglaries which occurred in Northney on the 03/09/2015 have been fully investigated. This has resulted in Mark Griffiths aged 49 being charged and remanded to Portsmouth Magistrates Court today (17/09/2015), and Julia Stone aged 45 being charged to Portsmouth Magistrates Court appearing on the 20/10/2015

There was unfortunately another burglary that took place yesterday (16/09/2015) at an address on the Seafront. However, it was possible to identify the suspect quickly and an arrest was made. This male has been bailed whilst further police enquiries are completed.

Although it seems the Police is making progress against bike thieves, it’s a reminder that Hayling Island is second only to Leigh Park in the local policing area when it comes to bike thefts.

Click here for some advice about securing your bike.