STARTLING new figures reveal one in five people in Southend have been a victim of bike theft, as cyclists call for more to be done to tackle the crime.

A survey carried out by south east Essex Green Party showed that out of the 187 people that took part, 86 per cent feel bike theft is an issue of concern.

The respondents claimed that the police and council are not doing enough to tackle it.

Figures also showed that 19 per cent of people had previously been a victim of bike theft.

It comes as the Echo has reported on a spate of bike thefts across the town since February.

According to Essex Police, there were 375 bike thefts in the year to the end of March.

James Vessey-Miller, chair of the south east Essex Green Party, has had two of his bikes stolen in previous years.

He said: “Bike theft is absolutely rampant. I have had two of my bikes nicked from really secure locations. The scale of bike thefts in Southend is horrendous. We could have something similar to what they have in London and Amsterdam where you can put cycles in a secure metal box.”

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Southend Council has recently installed new public bike storage as part of the Victoria Circus and London Road improvement works.

Deputy leader Ron Woodley said: “We do say to people to lock their bikes and park them in the most public of spaces so they’re noticeable.

“We do have bike stands in public view in Alexander Street and more along London Road.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We know the impact having your bike stolen can have and are taking action to address thefts, but thefts across the Southend district remain low.

“As with every offence reported, we establish if there are any viable lines of enquiry – such as CCTV covering the area or witnesses to the incident – and if there are, we will carry out a proportionate investigation in order to try to identify a suspect.

“On many occasions, bikes which are stolen have been left insecure outside shops or are taken by opportunist thieves and many bikes are not identifiable so once they have been recovered it can be difficult to trace them back to their owner.

“So we have shared a lot of crime prevention advice through our social media channels.”