A MAN has been jailed for trying to steal a bike at Reading station having been caught cutting its lock with wire cutters.

Barry Gosney, of no fixed abode, was caught on Sunday, July 11 by a member of the public.

They reported seeing him attempting to cut through the lock of a bicycle in the rack outside the station.

Officers then approached the 33-year-old who was crouched over a bicycle which had a ‘clear mark’ on the lock where it had been cut.

When searched, a pair of wire cutters were found in Gosney’s possession and he was arrested.

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Later that evening, a resident reported their bike missing to British Transport Police -- officers identified the missing bike and returned it to the resident.

Gosney was sentenced at Reading Magistrates’ Court a day later (July 12) where he was sentenced to prison for six weeks.

He was found guilty of theft and was also told he would have to pay a £128 fine.

BTP Cycle Crime Lead, Mark Cleland, said: “We are committed to tackling all forms of theft and proactively monitor the network 24/7 to make the railway a difficult place for these criminals to operate.

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“This sentence demonstrates just how seriously the courts take these types of incidents, and I hope this sentence serves as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

“We encourage cyclists to keep their bikes safe from thieves by double locking it with at least one D lock. Or locking it through the frame and wheel and registering the frame number on a cycle database.”