A prolific thief who kept stealing pushbikes from hospital and university grounds has now been locked up.
Patients, students and gym-goers alike all found their bikes missing when they returned to the racks where they’d left them.
Luke King was responsible for the thefts – most of which happened on university campuses or outside the Queen’s Medical Centre.
Each of the five thefts happened at different locations in and around Nottingham, between March and October last year.
King used bolt croppers to cut his way through locks that were securing the bikes to the racks before then riding away on them.
He firstly helped himself to a pushbike from outside the QMC on 13 March 2024, before then targeting university students after that.
Having stolen a bike from the University Boulevard campus on 7 June, King also took one from the Derby Road-based Jubilee campus on 15 August.
Further thefts then followed from outside a gym in West Bridgford on 26 August, before King then struck for a fifth time on 14 October.
That’s when the 32-year-old returned to the location of his March theft – the QMC – where he once again broke a lock and rode a bike that didn’t belong to him away.
Having managed to avoid detection before then, King’s luck ran out soon after that October theft, when he was identified and detained by police.
He would go on to be charged with multiple counts of theft of a pedal cycle – eventually pleading guilty to five of them just before he was preparing to stand trial.
King, of Callcroft, Aspley, returned to Nottingham Crown Court to be sentenced on Tuesday (16 December).
He was duly sentenced to eight months behind bars.
PC Mathew Trinder, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Luke King showed a complete disregard for the law and his victims by deciding to carry out each of these thefts.
“Armed with a pair of bolt croppers, the thief brazenly cut away the locks on the high-value pushbikes before riding away on them.
“Regardless of the value though, we know many people rely on their bikes for work and to get around, so we always work hard to try and recover them and track down those responsible.
“Having managed to evade the police during his theft spree, King’s luck eventually ran out, and we are all pleased to see he’s now been punished for his actions in the form of a custodial sentence.
“We would urge cyclists to take every possible precaution to prevent the theft of their bikes when parked at home, at work, or a place they’re visiting.”
