Thieves strike at Dean Forest Cycles for 2nd time in 4 months

Gloucestershire-based Dean Forest Cycles suffered a break-in on Guy Fawkes Night this week.

Remarkably, the police managed to recover all of the bikes stolen – 12 demo bikes – which are now back with the local bike dealer.

It’s the second time the IBD has been hit by thieves in the last four months, when raiders broke into the business in mid-August.

Dean Forest Cycles confirmed to CyclingIndustry.News that around £20,000 worth of demo bikes, including e-bikes, were stolen in the raid.

The thieves used a stolen van to ram the shop, which had been reported stolen by a builder earlier. During the ram raid, invoices from the builder were lost, effectively identifying the stolen van.

With the van identified, police caught up with the thieves within 20-30 minutes and stopped the fleeing vehicle with a stinger operation. Unfortunately, the thieves themselves managed to get away, but all the bikes were recovered and only a few axles remain lost.

The shop is now largely cleaned up and the owners have further anti-theft measures planned.