CITY centre cops are cracking down on thieves armed with bolt cutters who have nicked dozens of bikes in the last two months.

Officers at Stewart Street have spotted an increase in the number of bike thefts across the entire city centre - and they are urging cyclists to get savvy about securing their cycle.

In the last two months, more than 60 bikes have been reported stolen. In one case, a bike worth £4,000 was stolen.

The thieves are nicking the bikes for cash resale and in some cases they are using them for transport before callously dumping them.

The statistics include two ‘People Make Glasgow’ bikes from the city-wide hire scheme. We previously reported that crafty crooks had cracked the code to steal the bright pink bikes from the scheme. Thieves even use these bike as transport to steal another.

Now the city centre’s area commander Chief Inspector Brian Gibson is determined to catch those responsible for the increase in bike thefts.

He said: “We know that this is an ongoing problem and we have started an initiative which is focused on bike theft.

“At this stage, we are identifying who is involved in the type of crime and we want to ensure that when a bike is stolen, we can respond to that and quickly detect the offenders.”

Chief Inspector Gibson has briefed all his officers across the division to be on the lookout for bike thieves.

Through analysing the crime statistics, the force has discovered that in most cases, the bike was nicked after a chain or lock was cut or broken.

In other cases the bike had been left unlocked or was stored in a common close.

Cops are therefore urging people to invest in a good lock for their bikes and to leave their cycle in a secure location.

Chief Inspector Gibson said: “People need to be aware that they are using a high value item.

“They need to think about the location of where they are leaving their bike. Glasgow city centre has a number of locations where you can securely leave your bike.

“People also need to use a good quality security device to lock their bike. There are plenty of bike shops out there that will give them advice on what the best equipment is to use to ensure it is not easy for a bike to be stolen and quickly removed.”