PROLIFIC thieves who stole bikes worth more than £3,000 have been jailed for four months each following an investigation by the British Transport Police.

Jason West, 24, of Avon Road, Colchester, and Lewis Wells, 25, of Tewkesbury Road, Clacton, both admitted a charge of conspiracy to steal when they were sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court.

The court heard the duo had come to the attention of BTP officers who were investigating after a spike in cycle thefts was reported in Colchester in April. The force circulated CCTV images of the two on its intelligence networks which lead to the pair being identified.

After running checks on their names with auction sites it became clear they had both sold a number of bikes.

The police then compared the descriptions of stolen cycles with those which were sold by West and Wells and found a number of matches.

There was also CCTV footage from an auction house which showed them with stolen bikes. Both were arrested in June and admitted stealing bicycles and selling them on after being confronted with the video images and paperwork from auction houses.

Speaking after the sentencing PC David Pike advised cyclists to be careful where they leave their bikes.

He said: “In total West and Wells were responsible for the theft and sale of more than £3,000 worth of bikes mainly from the Colchester area.

“Like many bike thieves, they saw cycles as an easy target, stealing from the same location on several occasions.While we catch many of those responsible, sadly, there are other opportunistic thieves like West and Wells out there.

“I would advise cyclists to make sure their bikes are well secured in designated areas when leaving them at stations.”