Dozens of people queue to have their bicycles marked in Newark market place as a deterrent to crime

Dozens of people queued throughout the four-hour period of a free bicycle-marking session on Sunday that was organised by police.

The queue stretched half the length of the market place as people patiently waited to have their cycles marked to ward off thieves and try to ensure their bikes can be returned should they be pinched and are then recovered.

The free session, the first of a series happening once a month, took place from 10am to 2pm, as part of a joint project between Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping, the district council and the county council.

The bike marking event, which was attended by the commissioner, police officers and district council public protection officers, was the first in a series planned as part of a multi-agency response to deter would-be thieves and reduce crime.

The bike marking exercise involves imprinting a unique tamper-proof code on the bicycle before details are registered on the Bike Register database along with a photograph of the bike, frame number and the owner’s details.

The scheme is used by police forces across the UK, with more than 970,000 bicycles currently registered.

If a marked bike is taken, a stolen marker can be added to the unique code and when checked, this will flag the property as stolen to help identify an offender and ensure the bike is returned to its rightful owner.

One of those attending was James Tranter who went along with the bike he uses daily, which was stolen, but he found it.

"I was prompted to get marked because it was stolen," he said.

"It was taken five weeks ago despite being locked on Bridge Street. I retrieved it by walking around the locality in the hope of spotting it.

"I was wandering around and, call it intuition, I don't know, but something told me to walk down Paxton's Court and there it was under the archways I guess waiting to be picked up.

"It is my means of transport as a non-car user."

Inspector Heather Sutton, district commander for Nottinghamshire Police in Newark and Sherwood, said: "Cycling is popular in Newark — cycling to work, cycling to school — and bike theft is a theme.

"Events such as these will help deter it and mean that if a bike is taken and subsequently recovered, we have a much better chance of reuniting it with its lawful owner.

"I also hope that one or two of our bike thieves are walking past today and seeing the amount of people getting their bikes marked. They'll never know if the bike they take has been marked here today and whether that will result in them getting caught.

"Many of the people I have spoken to say they have been victims and that is why they are here.

"Most people say they saw the event promoted in the Advertiser.

"I am so pleased to see so many people here for this important initiative and all respecting social distancing."

Mr Tipping said: "I'm really pleased with the response to this event which I hope will go some way to increasing confidence within the community and among cyclists.

"Being a victim of crime is a dreadful experience and we are determined to reduce that risk with positive and proactive prevention measures.

"Those who live or work in Newark will see a number of changes over the coming weeks, which are designed to increase feelings of safety and make it harder for opportunists to strike.

"Not only will we have better technology in place to detect crime, we will be making it much harder for crime to happen in the first place."

David Lloyd, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: "Working in partnership with the police offers opportunities to bring such activities to the residents of Newark. This simple yet effective measure can go a long way towards preventing cycle theft.

"This event along with other proactive measures we will introduce, as part of the Safer Streets Project, will increase the safety of our residents as well putting measures in place to deter opportunists. Our priority is to make sure residents, and visitors, of Newark feel safe and protected at all times."

Police officers also visited bike shops to encourage owners to check and mark new and used bikes as a further deterrent.