COMMUTERS leaving their bicycles at Ipswich station have been given the opportunity to protect them from thieves.Officers from the British Transport Police held a cycle crime reduction surgery at the station yesterday where they handed out electronic tracing tags to be fitted to bikes and offered crime prevention advice.

COMMUTERS leaving their bicycles at Ipswich station have been given the opportunity to protect them from thieves.

Officers from the British Transport Police held a cycle crime reduction surgery at the station yesterday where they handed out electronic tracing tags to be fitted to bikes and offered crime prevention advice.

The joint initiative between Suffolk Police, National Express, and the BTP is designed to ensure bikes are securely marked.

With the tagging system, the owner registers their bicycle on a national database, which is accessible to police. If it is lost or stolen, officers are then able to track it.

Keith Jackson, BTP crime prevention officer, said: “It is about increasing cyclists' awareness of the need to properly secure their bikes.

“We know that today there are more bikes than ever being used by commuters who use the railways. Because of this it's more important than ever for us to ensure that cycle owners are educated and informed about how best to protect themselves from thieves.”

National Express is spending thousands on improving the area where bicycles are kept and the project includes building a cycle storage area with new fencing, plus installing new CCTV cameras.

Glynn Phillips, customer services supervisor for National Express in Ipswich, said: “Bicycles are heavily used and there has been a noticeable increase since the beginning of the year. We have an ongoing commitment to cyclists.”

Do you think there has been an increase in bike crime? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk