When you purchase your bike:

• Get your bike electronically tagged or postcoded if you can. Contact your local cycle retailer for advice or contact York Community Watch on 01904 669072.
• Buy a good quality lock such as a D-Lock, extension cable or heavy chain lock – ask your cycle retailer for advice.
• Keep a record of your frame number.
• Take a photograph of your bike so you have an accurate description if it gets stolen.

When you park your bike:

• Lock your bike wherever you leave it, no matter how long you may be away. It only takes seconds to steal a cycle.
• Always secure your bike at home – fifty percent of thefts happen here.
• Remember to lock the frame and both wheels.
• Always secure your bike to a stand or an immovable object.
• Lock your bike tightly to make the lock and cycle hard to manoeuvre.

For further information on how to keep your bike safe contact the York Against Cycle Theft campaign.