Burglars smashed into a shed in Letchworth to steal a dirt bike worth £3,000 – and the owners have offered a hefty reward for information leading to its recovery.

The KTM dirt bike, licence plate FN57 FXM, was stolen from a shed in Icknield Way between 5pm on Wednesday, February 15, and 8.30am the next day.

And John Gunn, father of the bike’s owner Terry Gunn, said they were willing to pay £400 for information leading to the bike’s recovery.

John told the Comet: “It’s my son Terry’s bike, but he keeps it here in the shed. He’s quite devastated about this. For me, I just feel violated that someone’s had the audacity to come onto my property and take something that’s not theirs.

“The shed was smashed open. They got in through a window so could undo my security devices from the inside, then they forced the door. I’ve got a security light, but it doesn’t get right into the corner.”

There were five bikes in the shed, including two dirt bikes, only one of which was stolen – and John thinks the thieves broke in with this particular bike in mind.

He said: “I think they came for the bike. I think they also staked the place out first, because they came down the back of the house to avoid going through the front entrance.

“We posted on Facebook and we got a reply saying two white lads had been seen pushing the bike across Norton Common at about 11pm.

“If any of this jogs someone’s memory and leads to them giving some information, that’d be great. Terry’s not going through a great time at the moment and he’d be over the moon to get the bike back.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting crime reference G2/17/422 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org.