University security officers apprehended two young men attempting to steal bikes outside the Michael Sadler building in the early hours of the morning last week.

Police sources revealed that both thieves were tackled by an attending campus officer, who then waited for the police to make an arrest.

They have since been charged.

The news comes after a spike in the number of bike thefts around campus.

During the last academic year, just over half of the bikes stolen in the area surrounding the University were taken from campus.

The Gryphon spoke to the University’s Head of Security, Alan Cain, who explained, ‘We recently went live on Campus Watch.

The police are now radio linked to Security, meaning we have doubled our chances of catching thieves’. The University’s Police Liason Officer, PC Matt Guy was keen to stress students be vigilant,

‘Park your bikes in the centre of campus where there is plenty of CCTV and avoid bringing an expensive bike to university’.

He also added, ‘Don’t leave your bikes on campus overnight’.

Lucy Connolly