Thief steals £3,000 bicycle from man as he chatted to three police officers

A cyclist had his £3000 mountain bike stolen as he stood chatting to three police officers. Kevin Jager, 47, from Durham, was paying his first ever visit to Manchester when the bike was taken from under their noses. He had been working as a security marshal in the elite women’s race in the Great Manchester Run on Sunday.

After seeing the runners home, Kevin stood near the finish line on Deansgate chatting to three police officers as they waited for the end of the men’s race. While Kevin’s back was turned, a thief swiped his high-tech S-Works bike which was resting against a wall just a few feet away.

Kevin said: “The police officers and I were all looking towards the finish line and waiting to see Haile Gebrselassie win. I took my eye off the bike for a matter of moments. The first thing I knew about the theft was when one of the police officers handed me my gloves which had been resting on the bike saddle but had fallen on the floor.

“I think the officers were amazed that someone would have the audacity to steal something from under their noses.” Supt Jim Liggett said: “It was audacious of the offender to steal the bike when the victim himself was not very far away. However, there were thousands of people near the finishing line at the time and it can become easy to lose sight of property or people.”