THIEVES stole mountain bikes worth £4,000 from a family of cycling enthusiasts.

Three bikes were stolen from a property in The Cheethams, Blackrod, on Saturday night.

Elaine and David Forester have seen CCTV footage from a neighbour’s camera showing three men parking a white Vauxhall Corsa before approaching the house at 9pm, when the family were out.

The men then came back into view five minutes later, riding the bikes, before dumping one and taking the two more expensive ones.

Mum-of-two Mrs Forester said: “The fact that it all happened so quickly makes it clear they knew exactly where they were going and that we were clearly targeted.”

The two bikes were a white Lapierre Zesty, which costs more than £2,500 when bought new, and a blue Giant Anthem, which was bought for £1,500.

Both bikes had also been fitted with reverberating seats which cost £200 each.

The third bike, which was dumped by the thieves, was worth a lot less.

Mrs Forester said: “We are just gutted; this is our hobby and we love cycling together.

“We work really hard to be able to buy things like this and someone thinks it is ok to just come along and steal them – it makes me really angry.”

The 43-year-old micro-biologist added: “We think someone has forced the garage door open because they knew the valuable bikes were inside.”

Mrs Forester said her two children, who are aged 14 and 15, were left frightened after the burglary.

Several residents living nearby have provided CCTV footage of the incident.

Mrs Forster added: “The actions of our neighbours just go to show what a tight-knit community we have around here.”

The bikes were insured but the Foresters said they remained hopeful of getting their bikes back. Anyone with information about the missing bikes is urged to contact police on 101.