£70,000 haul in raid on Ludlow bike shop
Thieves made off with £70,000 worth of bikes when they raided a shop in Ludlow.
On Saturday, staff from family-run Pearce Cycles were away at Kinsham on the Welsh border preparing for a mountain bike race. The firm is well known for its expertise in the mountain biking world.
However, at 11.30pm on Saturday, two people removed a gate post, cut through a fence at the Fishmore site and then turned around two CCTV cameras.
Less than three hours later, a large white van was spotted which then drove through the gates, across a field and through the gap in the fence.
The offenders took some time to get in and used a grinder on the shop's steel plated door before smashing their way in.
Once inside, three people grabbed 14 bikes which had a combined retail value of £70,000. These included Specialized and Merida electric bikes, high-end downhill and trail bikes.
Lyndsey Pearce from the business said: "Our alarm rang us at 2.26am but we were organising a MTB race which left us 30 minutes away from the shop rather than the usual two minutes from home.
"We checked the CCTV on phone and could see empty bike stands. I rang the police and by the time we arrived there was a police dog team and another police crew here.
"It seems the intruders knew what bikes to target. We have got huge coverage on social media so I hope we can find something out. However, no customers' bikes taken and we have now got shop tidied and back to business thanks to our fantastic staff."
Anyone with information or who has been offered a bike should call West Mercia Police on 101 and quote 89/5/280419 22/37866/19.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
