Cambridge revealed as the top UK city for bike theft

MoneySuperMarket has analysed data from the Office of National Statistics and revealed that Cambridge is the “UK’s top hotspot for bicycle theft” with “18.4 thefts reported per 1000 people in 2020.”

Cambridge, known as “Britain’s cycle city“, recorded over double the number of bike thefts than Oxford who came second with “8.o bike thefts per 1000 people.”

Others in the top five UK towns and cities with the highest proportion of bike theft reports per 1,000 people included Reading, with 5.2, Lincoln with 4.0, and Norwich with 3.7.

Tunbridge Wells and Caerphilly are deemed the safest places to own a bike in the country. Both towns have “0.2 bike thefts per 1000 people.”

199 bicycles are stolen across the UK every day, with 72,640 bikes reported stolen in 2020 as a whole.

Bikes outside Cambridge Railway Station (Image Credit: Christian Mercat, Creative Commons License)

Kate Devine, home insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, commented: “Whilst the data shows that some areas are safer than others, there are many things we can do to deter bicycle thieves. Our top suggestions are:
·         Invest in a good quality lock
·         Lock your bike securely, including the wheels
·         Avoid locking your bike in an isolated area
·         Using two different types of locks can act as a strong deterrent
·         Register and insure your bike.”

Feature image credit: Jess Marais

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