Bikes stolen during charity Hunstanton RNLI cycle ride

Husband and wife Malcolm and Jan Craven, along with fellow cyclist Julie Wright and support driver Andy Brown, began the cycle from Felixstowe in Suffolk.

The four aimed to pedal 315 miles to Beverley in East Yorkshire but came into trouble after their first leg finished in Woodbridge.

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Last Friday morning, the friends woke up from a stay at a Seckford Hall to find Malcolm and Jan's bikes, worth thousands, had been stolen.

The grey and orange Roubaix Specialized bike and the Escape Inigma, green and orange bike were secured to a rear car rack when they were stolen.  

The team set out on a 315-mile cycle (Image: Andy Brown)

Malcolm aged 72, said: "We were doing fine until we got our bikes pinched on the first night.

"It was a bit upsetting, they bolt-cropped the cable to steal them, we think it was an opportunist. They also broke into a golf course next door."

The ride was in aid of Hunstanton RNLI where Craven's son Andrew, daughter-in-law Kate and sister-in-law Joy are among the volunteers.

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Although they'd been left bike-less the team decided not to let the theft defeat them.

The friends headed home to grab spare bikes and continued the ride, skipping just 50 miles to make up for lost time.

From left, cyclists Julie Wright, Malcolm Craven and Janet Craven at Hunstanton RNLI (Image: RNLI/ Chris Bishop)

On bank holiday Monday, they were back on schedule, arriving at Hunstanton RNLI and being met by fellow Craven family members, who escorted them on the final few miles.

Paul Stuart, one of the deputy launch authorities at Hunstanton, was on hand to greet them along with station mascot Stormy Stan.

DONATE: Mal, Jan, Julie and Andy’s fundraiser for RNLI

Mr Stuart said: "It's absolutely brilliant that they've kept going despite what's happened," he said.

"It's not the first time they've done something for us, we're so grateful for their efforts."

The team have set a target of raising £500 via their JustGiving page.

Anyone with information that could help Suffolk Police investigate the theft should contact via the website https://www.suffolk.police.uk/tell-us or call 101, quoting crime ref 37/24689/24.