Basket Case

More used to pacing the runways of Milan, supermodel and King's second-year Lily Cole will now be doing the same in Cambridge – after thieves made off with her £600 bike.

And to add insult to injury, they left without her basket.

‘They took the basket off and left it on the ground. I think that was the most hurtful part of the ordeal’, she fumed.

‘I bought the bike because it had a nice basket and they just left it there.’

Pashley, the company which makes the Princess Sovereign bike, boasts it is fitted with a built-in lock, ‘giving security and peace of mind without the need to carry a separate one’.

But it was not enough to deter the crooks, who use bolt-cutters and transit vans in the early hours to harvest bikes.

Bike theft is the most common crime in Cambridge, according to new stats.

Over 300 bikes a month were stolen this term, with the tally for 2009 reaching a staggering 1 900, a 13% increase on 2008.

And CUSU have offered no solutions to the problem.

‘Thousands of students use bicycles to get around Cambridge, and cycle theft does happen often’, said Welfare Officer Amiya Bhatia.

The gangs have even struck at The Tab HQ.

‘Mine had the lock snapped clean off – it was a pro job’, said one head honcho.

‘It was annoying as fuck!’

On a lighter note, Cole also mused on Cam’s beloved train station.

‘I don't park it at the station. The station is like a cesspit of cycles. It's a bit ugly, so I don't take my bike there.’

‘I don't think it's nice to put it in so much danger.’

Maybe she’s yanking our chain!