Last year 85,000 bike thefts were reported to the police, up 10% on 2022 and a 25% increase on 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by comparison website Independer.

Most bikes were stolen in Noord-Holland province, which accounted for some 20,000 of the total, with almost 11,000 of that down to Amsterdam.

But the increase in thefts was greatest in Flevoland province, where the number of bikes reported stolen rose by one third to 1,190. Bike thefts also rose considerably in Groningen.

Not all bike thefts are reported to the police but people who want to make an insurance claim must do so. “The number of electric bikes has gone up and this could explain some of the increase in reports,” Independer insurance expert Michel Ypma said.

“You should also take into account the conditions attached to making a claim if your bike is stolen from your garden or a shed,” Ypma said. “A shed should be properly locked and so should the bike, whether in a shed or a garden.”