Commuter has two bikes stolen from outside Horsham Railway Station in four months

Horsham Railway Station has a bicycle theft problem - according to a commuter who has had two bikes stolen in four months.
Horsham Railway Station. Photo by Steve Cobb S13160626xHorsham Railway Station. Photo by Steve Cobb S13160626x
Horsham Railway Station. Photo by Steve Cobb S13160626x

London worker Su Symonds, who lives in Horsham, first had a bike stolen from the rack outside the station in November.

Police recovered the stolen bicycle in January, but in the meantime she had received a replacement as a Christmas present.

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However, she returned from work on Monday (February 29) to find that her new bike was missing.

Su, 34, said: “I took all the necessary precautions to make sure it was safe, and it has gone and been stolen.

“If it has happened to me twice in four months, how many other people has it happened to and what can we do about it?”

Su’s cycle ride to the station each morning takes about ten minutes, compared to a half hour journey on foot.

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She explained that a teenager was arrested for the first theft, but she did not press charges and settled the matter via community resolution.

And she added that she believes many others have been victims of similar crimes - including a rail worker who told her his bike was stolen from Gatwick Airport’s station.

She said: “It does seem that it is not just me this is happening to, I think it is a bit of an issue.

“Horsham is meant to be a nice place to live, a desirable place, and this makes me think there is a lot that goes on that we are not aware of.”

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Though she admitted that her bike was not locked properly at the time of the first theft, because she was rushing for a train, on the day of the second crime her bike was securely locked and on the top tier of the rack.

Between April 1 2014 and February 23 2016, police recorded 15 cycle thefts at Horsham station.

A spokesperson for British Transport Police (BTP) said: “I can confirm we are investigating the theft of a pedal cycle from Horsham station on Monday, 29 February.

“The owner of the bicycle also reported a theft to us in November last year. On that occasion, the bike was traced and returned.”

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