Round-the-world cyclist's 5,000-mile journey at risk after bike stolen in Cambridge

• Oren Lotan tells ITV News Anglia's Matthew Hudson what his bike meant to him

A cyclist who has been pedalling around the world for nearly a year has had his bike stolen shortly after arriving in Cambridge.

Israeli Oren Lotan, 37, safely navigated 18 countries and more than 5,000 miles before the brakes were put on his journey after arriving in Cambridgeshire's bike-theft hotspot.

The engineer, who was about to begin the final leg of his adventure, said he was "distraught" by the loss of his bike and compared it to the end of a relationship.

"I went outside, I looked and then I just sat down on the floor because it was like 'Oh, this is bad'," said Mr Lotan.

"Both sentimentally, of course - I've been through a lot on this bike from like good experiences, bad experiences, memorable experiences - and also of course because of the practical aspect."

The bike was stolen from outside the house where he had been staying with friends. Although he is grateful for the bike that has been lent to him, he needs a new one to complete his journey.

"Finding new bikes in this current market is challenging because there's nothing exactly like those bikes I spent a lot of time preparing," he said.

"It's a bike you spend whole days riding and that's not something you can just hop on and start riding.

"I don't have a lot of time so there is a bit of despair as I am flying soon and in Cambridge it's very hard without a bicycle."

Mr Lotan said while he was warned about bike thefts in Cambridge, he thought after travelling to so many different countries that it would not be as bad as that.

But the theft of his beloved bike in Britain's cycling capital is not a rarity.

In 13 of the last 15 years the number of bike thefts has exceeded 2,000, with more than 3,000 in 2019 - though the true number may be even higher.

Jef Sharp, who owns the Life on a Bike Shop in Cambridge, believes the ongoing problem is bad for the city.

He said: "We're trying to promote cycling and lower emissions and keeping everything green but people are being put off buying a bike to ride it because of the chance of it being stolen.

"And that is one of the main concerns of people buying a bike - what is the chance of it being stolen?"

Mr Lotan is still determined to fly to New Zealand so his adventure can continue across Asia.

"It would be a really bad way to end my journey with my bike stolen," he said. "This was a good journey. There were ups and downs obviously.

"You don't spend half a year on the road and everything is sun and roses. There were bad parts but generally it was a good journey and I don't want it to end on this note."

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