OXFORD's notorious bicycle thieves looking for easy pickings will have to look over their shoulders this summer.

For the first time the city centre's CCTV cameras are being trained on cycle racks as part of the police 'purge' on cycle theft.

Officers will also be stopping riders in the streets if they are spotted jumping red lights to check if they are the owners of their cycles.

Every student at Oxford University has now been told not to leave their cycle unattended in the city centre during the summer as part of the campaign.

Last year there were 1,800 cycles stolen in Oxford and 454 of them were in the city centre.

Pc Jim Abram, of Oxford Auto Crime, said: "Until the end of the summer we are going to have a purge on cycle crime using CCTV in the areas where there are bike racks.

"It is the first time we have done this."

The summer crackdown is being launched as students leave the city for the summer and abandon their cycles on racks hoping they will still be there when they return.

To stop the thieves, many of the city centre's 42 CCTV cameras will be trained on cycle racks.

All of them will have a default setting on the nearest cycle rack.

If a CCTV operator spots a thief at work they will instantly contact a joint auto crime and city centre police team.

Officers hope the initiative will catch more cycle thieves in the act.

Pc Abram said: "When students go away for the summer cycle crime goes down because they are not aware their cycle has been stolen.

"But when they return it goes up when they find their bikes are missing. We are trying to get in there first and stop that happening."

Between April 2006 and May 2007 there were 1,805 cycles stolen in Oxford while thieves took 2,107 cycles the year before.

During the same period in 2004 and 2005, 1,190 were stolen and the year before it was 2,060.

Insurers Halfiax last year ranked Oxford fifth for the number of insurance claims.

Two city centre Police Community Support Officers will be carrying marking kits and can put postcodes on cycles on the spot.

Pc Abram added: "Don't leave your bike lying around for too long. But if you do have to then make sure it is parked in a bike rack which is watched by the CCTV cameras.

"We are concentrating on cycle crime. We will take positive action but we want the co-operation of people in the city to park sensibly.

"We take cycle crime seriously and anyone caught will be taken to court. If you steal a bike this summer expect to see us."

David Jaques, of Cyclox, said: "The CCTV generally already seems to be having an effect. I leave my bike at the station and it hasn't been interfered with or stolen for years.

"As for stop-checks I would be happy to be stopped by a policeman if they were looking for stolen bikes."