Thousands of bikes have been stolen across the North East in the past two years - with the majority never returned to their owner.
Over the last two years there were nearly 3,000 bicycle thefts recorded by Northumbria Police, but only 10% ended up being given back.
The data does not include figures from Sunderland or the South Shields area.
The worst area for bike thefts was the centre of Newcastle, with 445 thefts recorded between January 2017 and January this year.
Close behind was the student dominated Jesmond/Heaton area, which saw 395 bikes stolen.
Benwell and Byker were also hotspots, with both recording more than 200 stolen bikes over the last two years.
Phil Brookes, 63, a retired GP who clocks up over 500 miles on his bike most months, said: “I rarely take my bike to town and I’m reluctant to leave it for only a few minutes, despite two to three locks and city centre CCTV.
“The police have little interest, stolen bikes are rarely found, so why take the risk?”
Out of the 2,889 bikes that were stolen across the force area, only 281 were returned to their owners.
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However, in April cycle hire firm Mobike announced it is pulling all of its bikes out of Newcastle and Gateshead.
The announcement came after months of speculation over the cycle sharing service's future in the region with a large number of bikes seen dumped in the River Tyne or abandoned elsewhere.
Without a cycle hire scheme, people will have to use their own personal bicycles to commute into town and face the prospect of being targeted by thieves.
One resident who had her bicycle stolen was Clare Higginbottom, 36.
She said: “I had my bike stolen in town back in October 2017, on my birthday.
“It ruined the day - I was foaming as it had a D-lock on (which the police give out) but I left my second lock off as it wasn’t going to be left long.
“Big mistake. I got told by police who rang to take crime incident details that their D-locks are useless.
“I wish they’d mentioned that when they gave it to me.”
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Another member of cycling group Cycling Around the North East, Martyn Care, said: "When I'm in Newcastle city centre, I’ll be worried about my bike until I get back to it ten minutes later; sad to be supporting environmental issues but also be worried about the lack of security.”
For some, the high number of bike thefts is not the main obstacle stopping more people cycling.
Josephine Ellis, 43, a researcher at Northumbria University said: “I once had the handlebars taken off my bike which was irritating and if you were to leave a bike unlocked chances are it wouldn't be there when you got back.
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“But although all theft is distressing, in this context it pales into insignificance against the really important scandal and injustice facing anyone on a bike in Newcastle - namely, the fact that all of us are put in serious danger every single day because of a lack of safe cycle routes, and that many, many more people don't feel able to cycle at all for the same reason.”
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "We continue to promote crime prevention advice to the public in order to keep their belongings and property safe.
"Sadly there are opportunist thieves who will take advantage of those who leave their property insecure or unmarked.
"It only takes a few moments to make sure you have secured your property or belongings and crucial in preventing someone from being a victim of thieves.
"We regularly hold free bike marking events and would encourage members of the public to take up this opportunity as it can increase the chances of your bicycle being returned to you."
According to cycling charity Sustrans' Bike Life: Transforming cities report, there were an estimated 8.8 million trips made by bicycle in Newcastle in 2017.
Sustrans hopes that by 2025 there could be as many as 18.5 million trips made in the city if cycling infrastructure improves.
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