THIEVES who stole a bicycle from a shed in Didcot have taken something that was “irreplaceable,” its owner said.

Two bikes were taken from Rupert Biddiscombe’s shed in East Street on Tuesday last week, one of which was a unique carbon fibre racing bike.

Worth about £3,000, the black Scott Addict R3 bike was lovingly built and customised by Mr Biddiscombe, with unique wheels and handlebars.

Mr Biddiscombe, a manager at Grundon Waste Management, said: “It took a long time to build it over the years.

“I’ve made a lot of changes to it and upgraded it.

“You can’t buy the carbon fibre wheels and handlebars in the shop any more, so it’s unique. It’s irreplaceable, my pride and joy.”

A second bike, a black and white Trek mountain bike, was also taken.

Mr Biddiscombe, 40, said: “I’m not incredibly concerned about the other bike, although it was almost new but I spent a lot of time and effort on this one.

“I’ve been working on it for four years.

“It’s very upsetting and frustrating to know that someone seems to have targeted me for the bikes. I know they are high-value items, but they were safely locked away.

“The chances of me getting my bike back are slim, because they are quite quick and easy to sell on.

“But I want to make it as difficult as possible for someone to dispose of it and profit.”

Police said the break-in was between 11pm on Tuesday and 6.30am on Wednesday.

Dad-of-four Mr Biddiscombe said: “I woke up at 5am and went about my normal morning routine. At 6.20am I went to get my bike to go to work.

“As I walked up the garden path I could see the shed door was open with the catch hanging down and I just knew what had happened.

“They had ripped the whole catch for the padlock out of the shed door.

“There were four bikes in there and they took two of them: the most expensive and the newest.

“Nothing else was disturbed.”

He said two other sheds on the street were targeted: “I noticed that my stepson Antony, who lives next door, had his shed door open as well. They had taken a tool, a long iron bar like a chisel, from his shed and then used it to open mine.

“They levered my lock open with it and left it next to the shed door.

“My friend’s shed further up the road had also been targeted. There were boot marks on the door and they had tried to lever it open but didn’t manage to break in. He’s a keen cyclist too.

“I have no doubt it was a targeted attack.

“There are so many sheds in the street but they only went for us. They must have watched us cycle home from work.”