‘Disgust' expressed at theft of Clonakilty bike

ONE of the business owners who spearheaded the Clon Bike Scheme has described the theft of one of their bikes from his premises last weekend as ‘totally disgusting.’

Speaking to The Southern Star, Tommy O’Donovan of O’Donovan’s Hotel in Clonakilty, said this was the first incident of its kind since the Clon Bike Scheme was set up in 2015.

‘This is a community bike scheme for the town and it’s totally disgusting that someone would steal and damage one of the bikes which is now damaged beyond repair as the saddle is gone and the handlebars are bent,’ said Tommy.

‘It was stolen out the back of the hotel where we keep the bikes and the lock was broken on it. We have CCTV of the theft and we will passing it on to the gardaí for them to investigate it.’

The bike was later fished out of the river near Rosscarbery after a local man spotted it dumped and it was returned to O’Donovan’s Hotel yesterday.

‘The value of this bike is €600 and we are appealing for anyone with information relating to the theft to contact us or the gardaí in Clonakilty,’ added Tommy.

Despite the cruel theft, Tommy said the scheme is going from strength and strength and he said the team behind Clon Bikes will think positively anyway, regardless of what happened. 

He also pointed out that the baskets on all the bikes have recently been replaced with smart blue, and even sturdier, ones.