The South London Press got hold of some figures under the Freedom of Information Act which show the number of bicycle thefts by postcode.
SE1, which includes the areas of Borough, Bankside, Waterloo and Elephant & Castle took the top spot which shows more than 2 bikes a day are being taken.
Rotherhithe (worryingly, where I live), Bermondsey and Surrey Quays (SE16) comes a grim second.
Outside Rotherhithe Station last year, I noticed a fancy looking bike locked to the rails. It was there for a good month or so, and I noticed it never moved (always in exactly the same position, locked to exactly the same bar, and obviously always there!) and I had a feeling it was a decoy bike. It seems any would-be thieves did too, because it remained untouched for most of this time, even though it was secured with a flimsy lock. Over time though, different bits started going missing, until it was just the frame which probably housed a tracking device.
The South London Press also reports that Lambeth are to introduce bike lock boxes like those found in the Netherlands (pictured). They will allow locals to securely lock their bikes outside for a charge of £5 a month.
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