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2 Sep 2025

A barber's shop in Northern Ireland has proved that it's a cut above the rest by picking up the inaugural Love Your High Street Award 2025, following a public vote that attracted over 2,230... Read more…

Independent retailers face Fresh challenges as UK inflation climbs to 3.8%

20 Aug 2025

ACT parent company Bira has expressed serious concern following today's announcement that UK inflation rose to 3.8% in July, higher than the expected 3.7% and marking the tenth consecutive month... Read more…

Bike industry continues to face challenges as profits and forecasts falter at Giant, Canyon and Shim

14 Aug 2025

The global bike industry remains under pressure as Shimano, Giant and Canyon all report weaker profits and subdued outlooks for 2025.
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ACT to join industry leaders at brand new cycling trade event this September

13 Aug 2025

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Independent retail crisis deepens as nearly half see sales plummet compared to last year

12 Aug 2025

Britain's high street crisis has deepened dramatically with nearly half of independent retailers, including many in the independent cycling retail sector, reporting sales have crashed compared... Read more…

Independent retailers slam £5.9bn "de minimis" import loophole as Government delays action

11 Aug 2025

ACT parent company Bira has condemned the Government's inaction over the "de minimis" import loophole following a Sky News investigation revealing £5.9 billion worth of cheap imports... Read more…

Criminals undermining legitimate retailers as trading standards collapse

7 Aug 2025

Bira has warned that criminals are undermining legitimate retailers as trading standards services collapse, following a new Which? investigation.
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ACT welcomes Government's new product safety laws

23 Jul 2025

A leading cycle traders association has backed the government's move to protect consumers from dangerous products sold through online marketplaces, following Royal Assent of the Product... Read more…

Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
Read more…

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Bike shop owner slams police’s “abject apathy” after three shops broken into in one night

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

A cycle shop owner has criticised the police’s “abject apathy” towards bike theft after thieves attempted to break into his store for the second time in a year, on the same night two other bike shops and a private residence were also targeted.

police car

In one night, at least 17 bikes and other items were stolen during the series of raids which took place across Sussex.

At the Giant store in Shoreham, six men in balaclavas were spotted by local residents – who took videos of the burglary – breaking into the shop and stealing 14 high-end e-mountain bikes.

A private home was also burgled, with the thieves making off with, among other things, two Kinesis bikes and a Canyon gravel bike.

The thieves were thwarted, however, while trying to access South Downs Bikes, when a neighbour disturbed them interfering with the shop’s front door lock, causing them to scarper in a black BMW.

The failed Saturday raid is the second time in a year that South Downs Bikes has been the subject of a break-in, after three e-bikes were taken when a thief broke the shop’s office window with a brick.

And after none of the perpetrators were found in the wake of the first burglary, the Storrington shop’s director, Martin Richardson, isn’t convinced of Sussex Police’s ability to deal with what he refers to as a bike shop break-in “epidemic”.

 “It seems like it’s spreading from one shop to the next. It’s like an epidemic,” Richardson told road.cc.

“We had a break-in about 12 months ago. A guy chucked a brick through the office window and stole three e-bikes. They put them in their van and realised that the bikes from an earlier break-in weren’t of the same quality as ours, so they dumped the seven bikes in one of our neighbours’ gardens!”

Referring to Saturday’s spate of break-ins, the South Downs Bikes director said: “I was speaking to the manager of the Giant shop in Shoreham, and residents took videos of these six guys in balaclavas, entering and exiting the shop with multiple e-bikes.

“We were able to capture an image of the one of the individuals who drove up in a black BMW and disabled the CCTV at the front of the shop externally. And we watched him on the CCTV take a little tool out of his pocket and get the lock off the door in a matter of 30 seconds!

“When we were broken into last time, the police officers eventually turned up and said ‘right, we’ve made a note of this, we’ll send you a crime number by email, and that’s the last you’ll see of us’. And we never heard anything whatsoever. They don’t give a damn, do they?”

“This time, I’ve only been talking to the Sussex Police by email. The response, as usual, is lukewarm. I obviously contacted them initially on their 101 and have now received the perfunctory crime number relating to the attempted break-in.

“I get the impression that provided you get a crime number and contact your insurance company, that’s the end of the matter as far as our wonderful police force is concerned. That’s why we securitise ourselves in such a way, because the police aren’t going to do anything. Abject apathy comes to mind.”

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