Insurers slow to back bike theft register

Check That Bike! is a recently launched online database allows cyclists to check the provenance of any bike they are looking to buy second hand, but despite over one in ten searches of the website returning a bicycle suspected as stolen, police forces and cycle insurance companies appear reluctant to contribute their data to the scheme.

The ETA is the only cycle insurance company currently to be sharing its claims data.

Unlike other frame number check schemes, the Check That Bike! is not a database of pre-registered bikes so it has the potential to be a far more comprehensive a service.

The website allows frame numbers to be searched against a database of those reported stolen to authorities. The website recently won £40,000 in a competition supported by the Open Data Institute.

A spokesperson for the ETA said: "A passive reaction to cycle crime plays into the hands of thieves - the police and cycle insurers, as well as potential outlets for stolen bikes such as eBay and Gumtree, should quickly unite to back Check That Bike!"

It is impossible to know precisely how many bicycles are stolen in Britain each year, but some estimates put the figure at over 500,000.

{{cta-cycling}}