A THIEF stole an electric bike worth more than £5,000 after tricking staff into letting him have a “test ride”.

Paul Diani, the owner of Les Cycles, on Long Road, Canvey feels like he has been “violated in his own business” following the incident and has been forced to change rules surrounding test rides since.

The crook told staff he wanted to test ride the pricey bike, before fleeing the area as workers gave chase on Thursday at around 1.50pm.

Mr Diani said: “The man came into the store on Thursday and wanted to try a high end electric bike.

“He took it out and then on the way back just rode right past the staff who gave chase and was out for about 15 minutes.

“It’s a Scott Randsome 920 and is high end with full suspension and high technology gears and other features. We don’t get them in often and they do sell quickly when we do.

“It’s normal for them to sell for this much money and for shoppers to want to try out the bikes too. I don’t know if he had a van or anything or if it was planned or anything.

“He was pretty tall and was wearing a mask and cap too and seemed like a normal chap.”

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He said it’s a massive loss for his business and a big chunk of earnings that he’s lost due to the incident.

The business owner said he buys the bikes on credit with thefts minimising the company’s earning.

It has been a particularly large blow after Mr Diani invested in the businesses throughout the pandemic..

He added: “I will need to sell about 10 bikes to make that money back. We are also changing the rules for people who want to test out a bike too.

Echo:

“We will be asking for people’s car keys and identification too otherwise nobody will get a ride on the bikes. It’s a loss of business as well as most people are honest and will buy the bike after trying it out.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101.