COPS are fighting the war on bike thieves armed with bolt cutters head on - by issuing safety and security advice to cyclists.

Glasgow city centre cop PC Yuill joined other agencies yesterday to raise awareness of the importance of cyclists securing their bikes with a proper lock.

A bike station was set up on Buchanan Street with Glasgow City Council, Dr Bike and Pedal for Scotland on hand to speak to cyclists.

But the message from Glasgow city centre beat cop PC Yuill was for cyclists to invest in good locks which can’t be broken by the bolt cutters currently favoured by thieves.

His advice comes after we reported on an increase in thefts in the city centre over the last few months.

In just two months, more than 60 bikes were reported stolen. In one case, a bike worth £4,000 was stolen.

That figure is expected to increase over the rest of the summer unless cyclists act now.

Police including plain clothed cops will be targeting the issue over the next few weeks in a bid to catch those responsible.

But cyclists should protect themselves by ensuring their lock cannot be broken.

Sophie Apter, 22, from Glasgow city centre, visited the bike station for advice after her cycle was stolen.

She said: “I am really attached to my bike and it is how I get about because I don’t set money aside for travel.

“My bike was stolen and I know bikes are being stolen all the time but when it is your main mode of transport, it is really inconvenient.”

She added: “I would never leave my bike outside my city centre home even though it is a nice area.

“I carry it upstairs and put it in the house.

“I have learned that hard way. Just don’t leave your bike anywhere especially if you care about it. I cared about my old bike which was stolen but I will never do that again.”

University of Glasgow lecturer Nick Bailey, 52, from Broomhill explained that he had invested in a good bike lock and is aware of an increase of thefts across the city.

He said: “I work at the university and bikes are always getting nicked. So I am more than aware of the thefts.”

He added: “A bike is a lot of money and it costs to replace one.

“It is very common crime which discourages people from cycling which is a bad thing.”

Police Scotland recommend using Sold Secure locks. This is a police backed initiative whereby manufacturers of locks, submit them to Sold Secure for testing.

Sold Secure rank locks in Bronze, Silver and Gold. For bicycle security, Police Scotland recommend you use Gold level locks.

You can get more information by clicking here 

The Evening Times also previously reported that thieves had been targeting the pink ‘People Make Glasgow’ bikes which are situated at stations across the city.

We reported that crafty crooks had cracked the code to steal the bright pink bikes from the scheme.

Bike stations in Govan and the East End of Glasgow were the hardest hit.

Thieves even use these bike, favoured by tourists, as transport to help them steal another cycle.