Bristol Temple Meads named among UK’s worst train stations for bike theft 

Bristol has one of the UK’s worst train stations for bike theft, new figures have revealed.     

Temple Meads is fourth in the list of the country’s worst stations to leave a cycle, with 179 bikes stolen from there in 2022.       

This comes after bike thefts at stations across the UK were found to have soared 40 per cent in a year to more than 6,900.   

But the number of people charged by police has fallen by eight per cent to only 238, with the force recovering only 103 of nearly 7,000 bikes stolen.       

The figures, which put only St Albans City, Cambridge North and Woking railway stations above Temple Meads in terms of bike theft, are according to Freedom of Information requests obtained by Direct Line insurance company.            

Commenting on the data, West of England Combined Authority mayor Dan Norris said: “This bike theft endemic is blighting our high streets, and our communities.  

“I’m doing all I can to make hopping on two wheels easier than ever before, not least investing in things like new and improved cycle lanes, so people feel safe on their bike, and more cycle hangars, so Bristolians have more places to lock up their bike. 

“But the truth is because bike theft is so rife, this is undermining these important efforts, as well as leaving residents out of pocket in a cost-of-living crisis. This wave of bike theft has been made in today's Broken Britain, and it’s time we addressed it once and for all. 

"That means many things, not least coming down hard on thieves and keeping our stations safe.”  

Norris has written to the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner calling for urgent action to tackle the bike theft issue ‘blighting’ Bristol.

Avon and Somerset Police has been contacted for comment.