WEST Yorkshire Police are urging bicycle owners to upgrade their security.

The warning comes following a recent rise in bike thefts from homes and shops. The Force is advising people to:

*Always lock their bikes whenever they leave them

*Mark the bicycle frame with their postcode to help it be returned if it is taken

*Put on a ‘Coded Cycle’ sticker to let thieves know the bicycle has been marked

*Get a recorded cycle form from their local police station or bicycle dealer and take a photograph

Owners are also being urged to use the best kind of locks - made of a loop of solid metal - and to lock their bikes to something solid, with those with quick-release wheels taking extra precautions.

An increasing number of local bus and railway stations, meanwhile, have secure ‘sheds’ for bicycles.