IT IS hardly the spirit of the Olympics is it? A teenage lad is lying in the back of an ambulance getting patched up, his bicycle lies a few yards away with a bit of blood splattered around.

And what does some passing lowlife do? What, unfortunately, too many of our community now do — spies an opening and swipes the bicycle.

Sam Gillingham had been inspired by watching Lizzie Armistead pick up a silver medal cycling when he decided to go out on his bike.

Thankfully he was not suffering from serious life-threatening injuries and so some may wonder what the fuss is all about. But it is the principle.

Do we really want to live in a city and county whereby the property of someone lying prone is seen as fair game by toerags and footpads?

That thief must have known what had happened. The front wheel of the bicycle was buckled. The blood and the nearby ambulance would have been a clue for even the stupidiest among us.

We would hope the thief feels some shame reading our story today.

The great pity is that is unlikely — there is a good chance he (or she) may even feel some swell of pride.

That should shame us all.