A campaign to get cyclists to register their bikes has been launched by Transport for London.

Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner and Siwan Hayward, TfL’s head of transport policing were at an event at Bethnal Green Police Station on Thursday, October 10, where dozens of unclaimed bicycles were on display.

The police have been unable to return the bikes to their owners due to them being unregistered and TFL and its policing partners have started the scheme to also deter cycle theft which can be avoided by security marking the bike.

Registering a bike also helps police and retailers identify and verify the legitimate owner of bikes that have been stolen or are being resold.