NEIGHBOURHOOD beat managers in Tavistock and Okehampton will be getting about using pedal power soon, following the donation of two bicycles to West Devon police. The bikes, worth £300 each, have been donated by Devon Cycle Hire of Sourton Down, which has just completed a successful first year?s trading. PC Angie Frost, West Devon?s crime reduction officer, said the bikes would make police more accessible to the public and give new meaning to foot patrols in the area. ?Over the next couple of weeks, the bikes will have suitable police markings added and officers will be equipped with cycle hats and other appropriate clothing,? said PC Frost. ?They are not the first officers to get on their bikes. This mode of transport is already being used by Plymouth officers and has been very successful.? PC Frost said West Devon?s crime prevention team was grateful to Karen and Peter Turner, of Devon Cycle Hire, for the bikes ? and for their ongoing support in preventing cycle crime. Karen Turner said: ?We gave them the bikes because we wanted to give something back to the community. ?When we spoke to them originally about it, we knew they were looking specifically for bikes as they enable them to get into certain areas a lot quicker than they could by car ? in shopping centres and estates in lots of places now, parking is a nightmare.? Karen said Devon Cycle Hire had just sold the majority of its bikes to make way for new stock for 2006. ?The police were present for the two days of the sale, trying to encourage people to security-mark their bikes with invisible markers, which would mean so many more bikes which get stolen might have more of a chance of coming back to their original owners. We were just trying to push the message jointly,? said Karen. Karen and Peter are pictured presenting the bikes to PC Frost. Picture by James Bird
