The mum of an Ipswich teenager who had his £450 bike stolen fears the perpetrators are “getting away with it”.

Ipswich Star: Joshua Lawrence's bike, worth £450, was bought for him as a birthday present - his mum has said there is a problem with a high number of bike thefts in Ipswich Town Centre Picture: KELI TODDJoshua Lawrence's bike, worth £450, was bought for him as a birthday present - his mum has said there is a problem with a high number of bike thefts in Ipswich Town Centre Picture: KELI TODD (Image: Archant)

Keli Todd's son Joshua Lawrence, 16, had his bike taken from the Ipswich Buttermarket shopping centre, as he worked a 12-hour shift as an apprentice hairdresser.

Joshua is now having to rely on lifts or using the bus to get to work.

Miss Todd said: "Josh works so hard and now instead of buying new trainers or clothes out of his first wage, he has to buy a new bike and it's not fair."

Joshua's black Trek Marlin 5 bike, which was a birthday present, was stolen from the Buttermarket shopping centre car park on Tuesday, July 16. It had been locked to a cycle rack.

"Every day someone else's bike is stolen and nothing seems to be done," Miss Todd added.

However, police said they are constantly on the lookout for bike thieves.

A spokesman for Suffolk Police said: "We carry out regular patrols in the town centre and are constantly on the lookout for bike thieves but we also need cyclists to be security conscious.

"It is easy to forget than some bikes can be worth several hundred pounds and would cost a lot to replace.

"With this in mind, it's worth investing in a decent lock.

"It makes no sense securing a bike worth £200-£300 with a cheap lock.

"It's recommended that you spend at least 10% of a bike's value on a good lock with a 'sold secure' security rating."

Police have said between May 23 to June 25, there have been 61 reports of pedal cycle thefts.

The bikes were stolen from Ipswich Central, Ipswich West, Hadleigh, Ipswich East, Felixstowe and Woodbridge.

Earlier this year, a freedom of information request revealed that during 2018 a total of 2,259 bicycle thefts were reported to Suffolk and Norfolk Constabularies, 1,058 of these were reported in Suffolk.