A FILM student in Oxford was left devastated after his 'irreplaceable' road bike was stolen outside the Westgate Centre.

An opportunistic thief took off with a £750 bike while its 20-year-old owner Tom Burrows popped in the gym at the shopping centre for an hour.

He parked his bike, which his parents gave him for his birthday in April, on St Ebbe’s Street that is next to the Westgate Centre but when he returned he found his lock cut in half on the ground.

Mr Burrows' bike was stolen in direct view of a CCTV camera on the Westgate building that did not capture the theft.

When he rang the police to report the incident that day, the 20-year-old said he was told that the case will now be filed as there is no line of enquiry.

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Speaking about the incident the student commented: "I am definitely cross my bike is gone.

"It is shocking that thieves managed to steal my bike in the middle of the day in the city centre.

"It is annoying there are no cameras monitoring that bike rack – it feels like there should be as Oxford is such a hotspot for bike theft.

"There must be about 100 bikes there at any time."

Mr Burrows will now have to use public transport to navigate Oxford while he gets another bike.

The student commented: "I always wanted to get a road bike and when my parents gifted it to me I started cycling everywhere."

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"I want to get a new one but the probability of finding the same model is pretty low as it is currently out of production.

"The next available stock the company has is in April next year."

Oxford has the highest proportion of bike thefts in Britain in 2018/19, with 2,050 incidents documented – one for every 81 people.

Even more, the same incident happened to a young couple from Oxford who was left heartbroken after a ‘heartless’ criminal took off with their brand new bike worth £350 in August.

An online petition was also opened to signatures on Oxford City Council's website in July and there are calls for the council to do more to help people protect their locked bikes in the city.

It suggests measures including giving more money to the police to stop bike thefts, or providing better cycle storage.

Thames Valley Police confirmed Mr Burrows' bike was taken between 9.30am and 10.15am on Thursday, October 1.

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The force argued it takes bike thefts 'seriously' and that officers will investigate when such reports are made.

A spokesperson commented: “We will always take reports such as this seriously and will investigate thoroughly when they are made.

“Officers regularly conduct bike marking events for the public, which are advertised on our channels including social media accounts.”

Further tips and information on how to keep bikes safe can be found on TVP's website .thamesvalley.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/theft-of-a-bicycle/how-safe-is-your-bike