TWO bicycle thieves from Bromsgrove and one from Kings Norton stole £10,000 worth of mountain bikes from commuters who left them at train stations and public bike racks in Worcester and Hereford, a court heard.

The three man gang used bolt croppers to steal 21 bikes over an eight month period and sold them online to unsuspecting buyers, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Anna Midgley, prosecuting, said the offences came to light when two bikes were recognised on the internet site and police were informed.

Police then traced the mobile phone number for the sale to 23-year-old Shane Bradley, of Grafton Crescent, Bromsgrove, and checked other sales over the previous six months.

They discovered pictures of the bikes had been taken in his back garden and had all been stolen in league with two others - Ashley Bradley, aged 20, of Austin Road, Charford, Bromsgrove, and 24-year-old Robert Leeds, of Enfield Close, Kings Norton, Birmingham.

All three admitted conspiracy to steal the bikes up to December 2014.

CCTV footage covering the sites showed them taking part in some of the thefts, Miss Midgley said.

Caitlyn Orchard, defending Shane Bradley, said he had been stealing the bikes to get money to buy cocaine but had now given up drugs and had taken steps to turn his life around.

Leeds admitted being involved in stealing three of the bikes and Devon Small, defending Ashley Bradley, said he admitted being involved in the theft of five bikes.

The court heard that Ashley Bradley had learning difficulties and had struggled to find work but had now been hired by his father's garden fencing business as an apprentice.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said the operation had been "run as a business" by Shane Bradley from his home.

The bikes had either been left by commuters or belonged to the government's cycle to work scheme and had been left in public places.

Shane Bradley was given an immediate jail sentence of 14 months and Leeds was given four months.

Ashley Bradley was given five months in a young offenders institution suspended for two years with supervision for 12 months and 130 hours unpaid work.

DI Stuart Murphy, of West Mercia Police, said: "This was a well organised group who were travelling to various locations with the sole aim of stealing pedal cycles.

"Many of the bikes were expensive and the victims took steps to secure their property. These individuals went armed with bolt croppers targeting areas where they knew they would find pedal cycles.

"After the thefts, they advertised them on the internet where innocent purchasers would part with their hard earned money thinking they were buying a legitimate bike.

"I would like to thank the victims who were conducting their own checks on the internet who found two of the bikes for sale. This in turn led to the arrest of the men involved.

"I would urge everybody to take steps to protect their property by marking it. This makes it easier in the event of it being stolen for Police to identify the item, and reunite it with their rightful owners."