head of the Bermuda Police cycle squad said yesterday.

"We had a record year last year and the trend is continuing,'' Sgt. Kendrick Lewis told The Royal Gazette .

But use of an extra lock would go a long way to curbing the epidemic, Sgt.

Lewis said.

As he supervised Police recovery of six stolen cycles discovered at the foot of a cliff behind the Southlands property on South Shore Road in Warwick, Sgt.

Lewis observed many of the bikes had extra locks still attached to their baskets, intact.

"Many cycles are recovered with the additional lock secured to the basket, when in actual fact they've been reported stolen fully locked.'' Moments later, P.c. Mark Norman hoisted the twisted hulk of a City Express cycle up the 50-foot cliff on the end of a rope. An unused lock was attached to the rear basket.

Sgt. Lewis said the Southlands site was frequently used as a dumping ground by cycle thieves and had to be regularly cleaned up by Police. The bikes recovered yesterday will "be identified, and either disposed of or taken back to their rightful owners''.

None was in running condition, and most were missing parts.

As well as using an extra lock and securing the cycle to something which cannot be moved whenever possible, Sgt. Lewis urged the public to be more vigilant in reporting suspicious behaviour.

CYCLE GRAVEYARD -- The Southlands Beach on South Shore in Warwick is a regular dumping ground for stolen motorcycles. Yesterday, P.c. Steve Palmer (shown) and other Policemen used ropes to haul the hot cycles back up the 50-foot cliff for identification. Police say there is no sign that the level of cycle thefts is dropping.