A SPATE of cycle thefts at Stroud railway station has seen bikes worth thousands of pounds stolen, including one incident where a stag do returned to find their bikes had been taken.

The three men left their cycles at the station overnight on July 15 only to return the next day and find they had been taken.

The thefts are among 13 to have taken place at the station between April and August.

In total the bikes stolen are estimated to be worth £3,000.

The most recent theft took place on August 25 and officers investigating have now released footage of a man sought in connection with the offence.

PC Frank Hedley from BTP said: “We have been monitoring the situation at Stroud for a number of months to try and establish a pattern of offending and hopefully catch the thief in the act.

“It began with just one or two bikes being taken but in the last two months there has been a notable increase, with the total value of bikes stolen now estimated to be around £3,000.

“We have been carrying out patrols and trawling CCTV to find the person responsible and are releasing footage from the most recent theft to help us with our investigation.

“While we cannot say the man in the footage is behind all the thefts, we would like to speak to him about the others which have taken place and I would urge anyone who knows him to contact us.

“I’d also like to remind cyclists to make sure they have an adequate, high quality lock on their bikes and if possible, D-locks, extension cable or heavy chain locks, which are harder for thieves to cut through.”

Anyone with information can call BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016 quoting reference 287 of 26/08/16.

Alternatively, details can also be given to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.