Jailed: Judge sends serial Shropshire bike thief 'menace' away for three years

Raymond Walkley, 46, stole dozens of bicycles worth more than £6,000 in Shropshire and Warwickshire over a four-month period last year.

On July 4, he stole a bike worth £2,800 that had been left by the owner outside Dave Mellor Cycles in New Street, Frankwell, in Shrewsbury.

On the same day as he took another bike from outside the town's swimming pool.

The previous day he had taken two bikes – one from Shrewsbury station and one from the library at Southwater in Telford. He struck at Southwater again on July 23, taking a cycle from outside the Iceland store.

Walkley's crime spree saw him travel by train between Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Wellington, Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon, taking bikes from stations or public areas and returning to Birmingham to sell them. Most of the thefts were caught on CCTV, but only one cycle was recovered.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court he was sent to prison for three years having admitted the series of thefts at earlier hearings. Judge Peter Barrie said Walkley, who armed himself with bolt cutters to commit his crimes, was "a menace" to cyclists. Walkley had planned the thefts and targeted expensive bikes left chained to racks by their owners.

Miss Samantha Powis, prosecuting, said Walkley had previous convictions for stealing bicycles – and other thefts – to get cash to feed his drug addiction

He was in court last April for thefts from shops, but his latest spree started just nine days later, when he struck at three stations in one day – at Leamington Spa, Shrewsbury and Wellington. Then, on June 17 and 26, cycles were again stolen from Leamington Spa station, and he struck twice more in Stratford and Leamington on July 23 and 24.

The next day Walkley, who was previously banned from Birmingham New Street station, was spotted by police and arrested. He was in possession of a pair of bolt cutters. On July 27 he was in court for breaching his ban and going equipped for theft, and jailed for 24 weeks.

Following his arrest the incidents between April and July came to light.

Mr James Bruce, for Walkley, of Princip Street, New Town, Birmingham, said that his client had shown remorse and co-operated with police. He said his client had been hooked on crack cocaine and had been living in hostels, and the thefts had "got out of control".

Mr Bruce said his client was no longer abusing substances and wanted to "turn his life around".