A WARNING has been issued following a number of mountain bike thefts in the Borders.

Between Wednesday and Sunday, five, worth almost £18,000 in total, were taken from garages in Peebles and Kelso.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We have received reports of thefts of high value bikes from garages in the Kelso and Peebles area over the past few days.

"At about 12.30am on Sunday, August 18, a light Blue Yeti SB150 mountain bike, valued at £6,000 was stolen from a property in the Soonhope area of Peebles.

"Sometime between August 14 and 16, four mountain bikes (Whyte 901 hardtail worth £1,100; Trek remedy 9 RSL worth £3,400; Whyte T13RCR worth £3,200 and Santa Cruz Bronson worth £4,200) were stolen from the Hendersyde area of Kelso.

"We would like to hear from anyone who has any information about these crimes, who saw or heard anything suspicious around the reported times or notices any of these bikes being advertised for sale. Please call 101."

Officers are also offering the following advice to help prevent bike theft:

• Don’t advertise the fact that you have expensive bikes on social media;

• Make your profiles private so only friends can see your rides;

• Don’t advertise your home address;

• Don’t broadcast holiday plans;

• Don’t list makes and models on GPS apps;

• Use privacy zone features on GPS apps to create an exclusion zone around your home address;

• Consider fitting a tracking device / bike alarm;

• If you can’t keep expensive bikes in your house then keep your garage or shed doors closed and locked at all times/ Use high quality ‘Sold Secure’ locks and fixings to deter / slow down thieves

• Register and security mark your bikes with a national cycle database such as Bikeregister;

• Install a shed/garage alarm that will give an audible signal of intruders;

• Security lighting can also help deter potential thieves;

• If you think that you may be being followed or watched by potential thieves whilst out and about with your bike, note descriptions of vehicles (inc. reg no.) or suspects and call us on 101 to report it (999 in an emergency).