A GRATEFUL York cyclist said he is “over the moon” after police returned his beloved bike to him before he even realised it had been stolen.

Josh Powell was awoken by a phone call from officers shortly after midnight on Thursday, who told him his abandoned bike had been recovered in St Andrewgate.

At the time the 19-year-old believed his cycle was still safely locked outside the offices of Network Rail, where he works.

He said: “When they phoned me it was a bit of a shock because it was about midnight, they said: “Hello Josh, we have found your bike”.

Police managed to reunite Josh with his bike quickly thanks to it being registered on a police database and marked in ultra-violet pen with a unique police number. Officers were able to match the bike against the details of the owner and get it back to him.

The night proved a double success for city-centre officers, who also arrested a man who had stolen a bike which they had identified earlier as being poorly secured and vulnerable to theft.

PC Jonathan Hodgeon said: “We are constantly looking at cycle racks and identifying bikes which are insecure.

“We noticed a bike locked up with a very flimsy lock – we then informed other people from our team to keep an eye on it – half an hour later we saw someone on it who had stolen it.”

The man was arrested shortly after. “I was very chuffed about it,” said PC Hodgeon.

The bike has yet to be reunited with its owner.

Police describe it as Giant Sierra gent’s mountain bike in red and white.

It was taken from St Andrewgate cycle racks at around 11.30pm on Wednesday evening. To get your bike security marked and registered with the police, contact the Guildhall Safer Neighbourhood Team on 0845 60 60 247