POLICE in Kidlington believe some dockless bikes based in Oxford are ending up 'dumped' in the village.

Officers urged residents to get in touch with the bike companies if they spot one abandoned in the area.

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Though they tweeted an image of Ofo bikes, which are set to expand their fleet in the city, their concerns did not appear to apply to one particular bike company.

Stuart McCarroll, ofo’s operations manager for Oxford, said: "We've been operating successfully in Oxford for many months and local reaction to the scheme has been hugely positive.

"Our bikes have GPS trackers and we have a large team of marshals on the ground to deal with any issues quickly. 

"When bikes are badly parked or left outside our geofence we contact the last rider to educate them on how the scheme works.

"We are delighted to have recently boosted our fleet in Oxford with 200 additional bikes, following discussions with the local council, giving residents more options for clean, green travel."

Pony Bikes and Mobike previously told the Oxford Mail they also hope to deploy more bikes in time for summer.

The roll-out was welcomed earlier this month by cyclists, and there is now well in excess of 1,000 dockless bikes in the city.

Dockless bikes schemes allow users to leave bikes anywhere, although they are encouraged to drop them near existing cycle parking.

Companies usually have a 'geo-fenced' area outside which users are not supposed to leave the bikes, to keep them confined to one area.

Ofo's geo-fence spans from Cutteslowe roundabout to Iffley and if bikes are parked outside the boundary for more than 24 hours, users should get a phone call.

People can also report ‘illegal parking’.

Since their launch in the city the Oxford Mail has reported concerns about dockless bikes being abandoned haphazardly.

One was even spotted on top of a bus shelter in Cowley Road.

But this is thought to be the first time police have publicly raised concerns about the bikes.

On Saturday an Oxford Mail reader sent in this image of a dockless bike deserted in the middle of a residential road.

Oxford Mail:

The bikes have also been complained about via Oxfordshire County Council's FixMyStreet service, which allows residents to log defects online such as potholes and broken street lights.

A post logged by a resident on Sunday reported a Pony bike that was submerged in Castle Mill Stream near Hythe Bridge Street in Oxford.

Another posted on Sunday stated two bikes had been left in Old Road in Headington, and had been lying there for almost a week.