Revealed: Where in London you're most likely to have your bicycle stolen

Hotspot: Most bike thefts have been reported in Meridian Square, near Westfield Shopping Centre
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Jamie Bullen4 December 2016

Londoners are most likely to have their bicycles stolen from the thronging square outside Westfield Stratford City, it has emerged.

New figures revealed the bike theft hotspots across London, including Hyde Park and areas popular with students.

Hackney was named as the city's "bike theft capital" in a study by insurers Protect Your Bubble.

Meridian Square, opposite Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, is London's number one hotspot with 71 thefts reported between October last year and September.

Only Elder Gate, a street near Milton Keynes Central station, had more reports of bikes stolen over the period across the whole country with 72.

Prone area: Cyclists also reported dozens of theft on West Carriage Drive in Hyde Park's
Ross Lydall

West Carriage Drive in Hyde Park, Blackshaw Road, which runs alongside St George's Hospital in Tooting, Tauheed Close in Hackney and Gower Street, where University College London is based ,make up London's top five hotspots.

Figures also stated most thefts across the capital take place in Hackney with 1,440 thefts in the borough over a year - which equals four a day.

London's top five bicycle theft hotspots

Meridian Square, Stratford - 71

West Carriage Drive, Hyde Park - 38

Blackshaw Road, Tooting - 33

Tauheed Close, Hackney - 30

Gower Street, Camden - 29

Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Camden were also named among Britain's unsafest areas to lock up your bikes by all featuring in a top 10 list of thefts in local authorities.

Bexley, Sutton and Havering were named the safest London boroughs to leave your two wheels.

The figures were based on a rate calculated in all town halls by the number of reported thefts per population.

Hospital thefts: Many people reported bicycles stolen on Blackshaw Road in Tooting near St George's Hospital
Google Maps

Rob Basinger, head of Protect Your Bubble, said Hackney hipsters appeared to be most under threat from the scourge of bike thefts in London.

He added the scale of thefts across the country meant one in three cyclists now never left their bikes unattended in public.

Mr Basinger said: "Within the top five London bike theft hotspots are a shopping centre, a royal park, a university and, sadly, a hospital. It appears that, in London, where there are bikes, there are bike thieves.

“Hipsters will have to hold onto their handlebars in Hackney, London’s bike theft capital, where bike thieves are cruelly cashing in.

"In fact, the scourge of cycle theft has got so bad that three in 10 cyclists now never leave their bikes unattended in public places, even when locked up.

“But there are security measures people can take. Avoid locking your bike to railings, which can be easily sliced through by professional gangs with the right equipment. Posts are not always sufficient either, as thieves can simply lift bikes over the top.

"Ensure there’s little room for leverage between the D-lock, the bike and the anchor, so that brute force can’t snap the lock or the bike and remove all loose parts - including your saddle if it’s not chained to the seat post.”

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