POLICE hoped to send out a message to cycle thieves in the city's first stolen cycle stop-checks.
Dozens of cyclists were flagged down by police on Magdalen Bridge in Oxford during a two-hour operation yesterday. Owners of some cycles police believed to be suspicious were asked to explain where they were purchased.
Details of others were checked on a list of reported stolen cycles.
Nick Gilbert, crime reduction officer, said: "The main thing is to get the message out on the street that we are taking bike theft very seriously."
Officers seized one suspected stolen cycle, but made no arrests. Cycle theft in Oxford has fallen by 22 per cent in the past year but has increased in recent weeks.
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