A SERIAL bicycle thief who targeted seaside town cyclists over a ten-month period has been handed a suspended sentence.

Nicholas Kendall, 43, of Nettswell Road, in Harlow, appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on November 3 charged with six offences.

He faced three counts of theft of a pedal cycle, two counts of going equipped for theft, and one count of handling stolen goods, namely a bicycle.

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All of the offences took place in Clacton between January and October 2020 and in one case saw Kendall steal a pushbike worth £2,000.

Due to his crimes, the planning that went into the thefts and his “significant record of dishonesty offences”, he was given a four-week sentence suspended for 12 months.

Kendall must also carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.