£27,500 worth of high-spec bikes are taken in ‘sophisticated’ theft from shop

MOUNTAIN bikes worth £27,500 have been stolen from a Uttoxeter shop after a sophisticated gang of thieves disabled its alarm system.

Bosses at Uttoxeter Cycles have been left devastated after watching CCTV footage of the raid.

It shows the offenders heading straight for nine high-spec bikes and ignoring less-valuable stock.

Owner John Kucharik said the crew appeared single-minded about what they were going to take.

He said: “They took nothing else, and disturbed nothing else. They literally just came, took what they wanted and left. They were moving items out of the way to get to what they wanted.

“Based on the footage it looks like they took their time over it, methodically disarmed the alarm system and everything else. They knew what they were doing. You just get the impression they’re not afraid of the police turning up or anyone disturbing them.

“They did pick a very stormy, windy night, so the local residents weren’t really disturbed.”

Mr Kucharik revealed it would be difficult to recoup the bikes, as a national shortage means more may not become available until next year.

He added: “In normal circumstances we could pick up the phone, order some bikes and have them delivered but at the minute we’re looking at perhaps next year before we see any new stock.

“These bikes were hand built, so there’s days and days of work involved in preparing and assembling them.”

“We normally have up to 100 bikes but since the beginning of the pandemic we’ve got down to less than 20 bikes, and now the nine have gone I’ve probably got half a dozen left if that.

“Luckily we’ve got the workshop to keep us going, that’s been very strong throughout really.”

Insurance will also only cover the cost of the bikes but any profit that could have been made off them has been lost.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: “We received reports of a break-in at a cycle shop on High Street, Uttoxeter, just after 5.10am on Sunday, March 14.

“Officers attended the scene and discovered entry had been forced into the store.

“A number of bikes were stolen during the burglary and an investigation is ongoing. Officers have been carrying out door-to-door enquiries in the area and are continuing to view local CCTV.”

Anyone with any information should contact Staffordshire Police on Twitter or Facebook and quote incident number 0096 of March 14.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555 111.