Man who cycled length of Britain has bike stolen

A man who cycled the length of Britain had his bike stolen just days after he reached John O'Groats.

Christoph Held, 48, from Germany, was an assistant teacher at a school in Newcastle in the early 2000's and wanted to come back to see more of Britain.

His route took him up from Land's End up through Wales, through the Lake District and Carlisle, before he cycled his way through Scotland to the finish line.

Held said he "couldn't believe it" when his bike was stolen at West Jesmond station days after finishing his journey.

He said: "I have always liked the UK, I like seeing the different parts of it.

"I wanted to see more of the country after my time in Gosforth, and my plan was to climb the three tallest peaks on my way."

The 48-year-old tackled Snowden, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis on his rest days.

The former assistant teacher said it was ironic how people had been "so friendly" throughout his journey, offering him back gardens to camp in and being invited for lunch, only to have his bike stolen as soon as it was completed.

"People have been so friendly, what is different to Germany is that people really wanted to help - they didn't just offer," Held said.

After finishing his 1,000 mile journey he travelled down to Newcastle to relax and sightsee.

"I locked up my bike at the station but when I came back someone had taken it," he said.

"I felt really embarrassed, I didn't know if I had just been naive."

He said "if anyone sees my bike I hope they will report it to the police".

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