A THIEF who stole bikes worth £10,000 from stations across the north west, including Central and Bank Quay, has been jailed.

But his partner in crime was given a suspended jail term at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday.

Dale Murphy, aged 22, from Liverpool, admitted stealing 15 bikes over a six-week period and was jailed for seven months.

Neil Gandy, also 22, from Liverpool has his seven-month sentence suspended.

The court heard how between February 20 and April 10 last year, Murphy Gandy, operated in the Cheshire and Merseyside area, repeatedly targeting railway stations at Widnes, Hunts Cross, Warrington Bank Quay, Warrington Central and Liverpool South Parkway as well as committing additional bike thefts in Warrington town centre and Speke.

Over the course of six weeks, they stole bikes worth £10,000, in some cases abandoning them at stations if a more expensive model caught their eye, then using the rail network to transport the stolen property.

CCTV images from the stations identified Murphy and Gandy as the thieves and mobile phone data placed them at the locations of the thefts.

Subsequent searches of Murphy and Gandy’s home addresses revealed numerous bike parts.

Both pleaded guilty to 15 bike thefts.

Investigating officer PC Ray Williams, from British Transport Police, said: “Indisputable CCTV evidence tied Murphy and Gandy to the scene of their crimes and thankfully put an end to their crime spree. The pair clearly saw the bikes as an easy target and stole high value cycles totalling approximately £10,000, most of which were successfully recovered and returned to their owners.

“Given the amount of bike parts found at their homes we can only assume that the pair had been stripping some of the bikes in a bid to disguise others they had stolen.

“While Murphy is behind bars and Gandy received a suspended sentence, opportunist bike thieves are still out there and we would remind cyclists to always ensure their bikes are well secured in designated areas when leaving them at stations. If you have saved to buy an expensive model then it’s worth investing in a top notch lock to prevent it being stolen.”