A RELIANT bike owner was reunited with their two wheels only an hour after it was stolen.

The bike was stolen from one of the back of the shops in Malvern, but police quickly made enquiries, which resulted in the bike being found and the thief arrested within the hour.

PC Paul Slaymaker recognised the offender from CCTV footage of the incident and checked several addresses, trying to find the pair.

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "PC Paul Slaymaker was on patrol in Malvern when he was informed of a theft of a bicycle from the rear of one of the shops in town.

"PC Slaymaker and PC David Olczak conducted some inquiries to try and locate the suspect. After several address checks, they located the suspect and the bike.

"The bike thief admitted the offence in interview and was reported for the theft.

"He will have his day in court.

"The thief and the bike were located within an hour of the theft being reported."

The owner was reunited with the bike three hours after the theft.

Police said the person relies on the bike to get to and from work, so they were very pleased to be reunited with it.