Watch: Brazen thief coolly removes lock from bicycle in popular nightspot

CCTV footage shows a prolific bike thief calming removing a lock from bicycle in a busy part of Bristol city centre, illustrating the brazen attitude shown by criminals when it comes to stealing bikes in the street.

The short clip sees Ryan Hack, aged 21, slowly gather the lock cord he has just broken before rolling it up and placing it coolly in his backpack. He then stole the road bicycle, leaving another victim in his wake.

Watching the footage, Ian Pond, chairperson of Bristol Cycling, described it as ‘very brazen’, adding ‘I’d have to say that if I was walking by I’d think he was unlocking his own bike’.

It highlights the hard task faced by Avon and Somerset Police in trying to bring down the number of bike thefts in the city each year - 1,561 over the past 12 months, according to the force.

But it also shows the clear evidence which had been collected by CCTV cameras in the city centre, and the strength of officers’ local knowledge with Hack recognised by a police officer and arrested five days later.

This theft captured on CCTV happened in Millennium Square on August 11 last year - a Tuesday night at 9.33pm.

It came a day after the 21-year-old was also spotted by a member of the public stealing a bike from racks at Goal Ferry Steps a day earlier.

Officers went to his home in Shirehampton Road in Sea Mills and arrested him after a search uncovered several suspected stolen bikes were found in the back garden.

Amazingly, only the next day, Hack was arrested again after being stopped in Broadmead with a two pairs of cutters.

On February 23, Hack was sentenced to 52 weeks in jail, and given a criminal behaviour order which will mean he cannot enter parts of Bristol city centre, including Broadmead and the Harbourside, when he is released.

Inspector Adam Dolling said: “He was well-known to our officers and was recognised in the CCTV footage of one of the thefts. Officers then went to his home where they discovered several bikes.

“We were pleased with the prison sentence given, and the granting of a criminal behaviour which will mean he won’t be allowed in areas of the city when he is released.”