UK Bike Theft Report
Original data on UK bicycle theft from the free Cyclesite stolen-bike checker. Ready-to-cite figures, updated as more bikes are checked, for journalists, researchers and cyclists.
Ready-to-use headline
Around 1 in 32 used bikes run through Cyclesite's free stolen-bike checker comes back flagged against a UK stolen-bike database. With an estimated 40 to 60% of UK bike thefts reported to police, these checks surface stolen bikes that official crime figures miss.
Key data points
Frame checks run
2,501
since February 2026
Flagged as stolen
~1 in 32
of all bikes checked
Checks this week
379
+7% vs the week before
What the numbers mean
Bicycle theft is badly under-recorded. An estimated 40 to 60% of UK bike thefts are reported to police, so official crime statistics capture only part of the picture. A frame-number check works from a different angle: it cross-references a bike against the UK stolen-bike databases, so it can surface a stolen bike whether or not the theft ever reached a recorded-crime figure.
A flagged result means the frame or serial number matches a record on a UK stolen-bike database. A clear result means no match was found, which is reassuring but not a cast-iron guarantee, because not every theft is reported or registered. The safest approach is to combine a database check with the basics: proof of purchase, a look at the frame-number area for tampering, and meeting in a public place.
UK bike theft hotspots
Reported bicycle thefts within about 1 mile of each city centre in April 2026, from police open data. This counts city-centre reports and is not adjusted for population, so compact, dense cycling cities can rank alongside much larger ones.
Ready-to-use headline
Police data shows London recorded the most reported bicycle thefts of any UK city centre analysed in April 2026 (49). Oxford and Bristol followed. Source: Cyclesite analysis of police open data (data.police.uk).
| # | City centre | Reported bicycle thefts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 49 |
| 2 | Oxford | 46 |
| 3 | Bristol | 38 |
| 4 | Cambridge | 37 |
| 5 | Cardiff | 34 |
| 6 | Brighton | 31 |
| 7 | Leeds | 25 |
| 8 | Reading | 22 |
| 9 | Leicester | 21 |
| 10 | York | 18 |
| 11 | Coventry | 15 |
| 12 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 15 |
| 13 | Southampton | 14 |
| 14 | Exeter | 11 |
| 15 | Norwich | 11 |
| 16 | Liverpool | 10 |
| 17 | Nottingham | 10 |
| 18 | Bath | 8 |
| 19 | Kingston upon Hull | 7 |
| 20 | Sheffield | 6 |
| 21 | Bournemouth | 4 |
| 22 | Birmingham | 3 |
| 23 | Milton Keynes | 3 |
| 24 | Portsmouth | 2 |
| 25 | Plymouth | 1 |
Method: reported bicycle thefts within about 1 mile of each city centre in April 2026, the latest month published. England and Wales only; Police Scotland does not publish to this source. Cities whose police force filed incomplete data for the month are excluded (this month: Manchester). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: data.police.uk.
Use this data
Embed the hotspots table on your own site, or download it as a spreadsheet. The embed keeps a link back to this report so the figures stay creditable.
The press kit is a one-page summary. Open it and print to PDF.
Citation
Please credit the data when referencing:
Source: Cyclesite UK Bike Theft Report. https://www.cyclesite.co.uk/uk-bike-theft-report
Methodology
Figures are aggregate results from frame and serial numbers run through the free Cyclesite checker against the stolen-bike databases used across the UK, together with community theft reports. Counts update continuously and rates are approximate, moving as more bikes are checked. The reporting-rate range is a widely cited estimate for UK bicycle theft.
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