A TEENAGER is devastated after determined thieves went to extraordinary lengths to steal his prized trials bike.

It is the second bike that rising trials rider Joe Bradley from Otley has had stolen in under a year - and the fourth taken from his family.

And in the latest attack to get the bike, the thieves left the family shed demolished, got past two alarms, an internal metal gate and then cut their way through thief-proof chains.

They then carried two bikes, Joe and his father, Stephen's, one of which was still connected to a 200Ib weight, over a reinforced garden fence, along a ginnell and out onto the Bradford Road.

The theft has left the Prince Henry's pupil, who was just placed second best youth in a series organised by the Wetherby Motor Club, too upset to go to school and unsure about his future in trials racing.

His mother, Annette Bradley, said the family was devastated."We've got it like Fort Knox here, but still they managed to get through - they must have nerves of steel. My son is devastated, but we won't be able to buy him another bike. I'm still paying for this one and now we haven't even got it anymore.

"It's an expensive hobby, but Joe was just beginning to get somewhere, but we won't be buying another bike, we just can't afford it."

The two bikes, a 160cc GasGas, bought for Joe's 13th birthday, and a 250cc Beta Techno, worth a total of £3,000, were suitable only for trials events and can not be used on the roads.

Mrs Bradley said she believed thieves targeted owners at trials, followed them home and stole the bikes later. The Bradleys had their first two bikes stolen in July last year and then in June this year thieves made an unsuccessful attempt to steal the replacements.

After the second attempt, they upped the

security even more - fitting reinforced wire to the garden fence and more gates to the already extensive system of alarms, chains and padlocks.

But still the thieves managed to get through - making their escape up the Bradford Road.

"I let the dog out and saw my son's mountain bike left out. I walked down the garden and couldn't believe what I saw, the whole back of the shed had been taken off and they'd cut though a £150 bike chain that wasn't supposed to be able to be cut.

"It must have taken two people to carry the 200lb weight and another two to carry the bikes," said Mrs Bradley.

The thieves had clambered over neighbours' fences and carried the bikes over two gates.

"I can't believe the cheek of what they've done. The first time it happened we thought, fair enough, we weren't secure enough, but now we've been done twice. It's like a thieves' paradise," said Mrs Bradley.

Police are investigating the theft but Mrs Bradley believes they have seen the last of the bikes following the incident in the early hours of Thursday morning. She said: "I can't sleep and my son is devastated. They left lawnmowers behind, these people are coming for trials bikes, they'll be stripped down and sold for parts."

A police spokesman said the thieves had been very determined and appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious to come forward. "They've gone to a lot of trouble to get in. They entered the garden using wire cutters by cutting a hole in the boundary fence. They then took panels of the shed so as not to activate the alarm. They were very determined indeed."

Anyone who saw anything suspicious should telephone PC Bird at Otley Police on (01943) 858071.