POLICE officers from Worcester are appealing for the public's help in locating a number of bicycles stolen earlier this month in the city centre.

On Wednesday, February 8, a 22-year-old man was detained by police following a theft of a mountain bike outside Morrisons in Droitwich.

Since then he has been charged with two more bike thefts from the Hive, Worcester, and is on bail whilst enquiries continue into three more similar thefts.

Investigating officer PC Paul Lambon said "We are currently investigating a linked series of bicycle thefts which occurred between February 3 and 8. It is believed that these stolen bikes have been sold on very quickly through local private sales groups on social media."

Officers are trying to locate the following bicycles which may have recently been sold or exchanged online: a man's red and black GT Aggressor mountain bike, a white Carrera mountain bike, a black and red Voodoo Marasa mountain bike, a grey Cube Mountain Bike, a black and silver Ellesse mountain bike and a black and red Hybrid road bike.

PC Paul Lambon said: "I would urge anyone who has recently purchased the above make and model of bicycle in a private sale to please contact me - your information could be vital to bringing a prolific offender to justice."

If you have information that could assist this investigation please contact police by calling 101 and quoting incident 0521S of February 8.

PC Dave Wise of the Cathedral Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team said: "We are working with partner agencies to tackle bicycle theft in Worcester city centre and we conduct regular patrols of hot spots like train stations and libraries to deter this type of crime.

"In these recent cases, bolt cutters appear to have been used to remove chains and cables. Whilst these are better than no lock at all, we would always promote the use of a heavy duty D-lock as a better defence against thieves."