An owner of a BMX bike has had their property returned to them this week, following the arrest of a Papamoa man.

Sergeant Tristan Murray says the arrest and respective return of property comes as a success story out of the many other bikes which have been handed in to Papamoa Police.

'The offender has been charged not only for stealing a bike from Papamoa plaza last week, but also for stealing another bike from Bayfair late last year.”

He says a number of bikes have been handed into police in the last six months and remain unclaimed at the station.

'After returning this recent bike to its owner, I still have 11 bikes and two scooters which I am trying to return to their owners.

'These bikes have been handed in to Papamoa police since July last year.”

Anyone in the area who believes their property may have been handed in to police, should visit the Papamoa station, he says.

'Come in and give us a very detailed description of what the bike looks like and if we can match it with one of the ones we have we will return it.”

He says bike owners can minimise the risk of theft, by locking up their property.

'Lock your bike at all times and buy a high quality lock. One of the best ones you can get is what they call a D-lock. You can also get bike locks surrounded in Kevlar which makes them difficult to cut.

'If you record your serial numbers it also helps us when you report your bike as missing or stolen.”