The system is used by UK police forces – and at 11.30am, the lucky Genesis owner got a call from Bromley Police Station, saying that they had the bike in their possession.

Police told him that two men had been seen acting suspiciously and riding two expensive bikes in Bromley at 4am that Monday morning.

Officers had gone over to question them and the suspects had run away. They had ditched the bikes but the police managed to catch one of the thieves and held him in custody. Later that day they traced one of the bikes back to its owner via BikeRegister.

Now reunited with his bike, Lovelock says: “I collected my bike a few days later. It was in fairly good condition, only missing toe clips as the thieves had torn them off. The suspect the police had caught pleaded guilty to burglary as there was overwhelming evidence against him – including CCTV footage and the fact that he was found in possession of my bike, which was registered to me as the legal owner.

“I am now telling everyone I know that they should register their bike as soon as possible.”

“I am now telling everyone I know that they should register their bike as soon as possible. I am also going to invest in one of BikeRegister’s bike marking kits to visibly mark my recovered bike so that police will immediately know that my bike is registered if it is ever stolen and recovered again.

“Overall, I am very happy with how things ended up. I am really glad to have got my bike back and so quickly. I just need to improve my security a little bit more now!”

Bike theft is a horrible thing – read our guide on how to avoid it here, and check out the BikeRegister site for more information about their services.