Bike thefts from a council run leisure centre have almost doubled in the space of a year.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by The Gazette has revealed 17 push bikes were stolen from outside Leisure World, in Cowdray Avenue, between August 2017 and August 2018.

This compares to nine bikes being stolen between August 2016 and August 2017 and just three which were stolen between August 2015 and August 2016.

A spokesperson for Colchester Council, which manages Leisure World, said: “Unfortunately, Leisure World is not unique in experiencing this type of crime.

"The number of bike thefts reported is low in comparison to the volume of customers who cycle to the venue, which we estimate is in the region of 20-30 each day.

“However, we take property theft extremely seriously and will always assist police investigations by sharing our CCTV footage if requested.

“We would advise cyclists to use the bike racks and bike bins available for cycle parking at Leisure World and to ensure they use a good quality lock to reduce the risk of theft.

"We are arranging a meeting with police to discuss any further practical measures that may help reduce the risk of this type of crime at Leisure World.”

The figures only include incidents which were reported to the centre and an official incident form was completed.