Police forces that solve under £10% of burglaries agree to spend ‘£1million’ on high-end cycling gear

POLICE forces that solve fewer than one in ten burglaries have agreed to spend close to £1million on high-end cycling gear.

Officers will be kitted out with clothing and accessories from a brand that has supplied Tour de France racers.

Forces in Humberside and South, West and North Yorkshire have signed the £900,000 deal with Endura for gear which others in England and Wales can use.

It means officers patrolling the streets of Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Hull and York will be decked out in designer gear such as waterproof trousers costing up to £180, helmets at up to £165 and sunglasses which cost from £40 to £110.

Meanwhile, Home Office figures revealed that at least nine in ten burglaries in the four police forces’ areas were going unsolved.

In South Yorkshire, 94.2 per cent of cases were closed with no resolution — meaning no suspect had been identified, there was a lack of evidence or was no public interest in taking the case any further.

Surrey and Sussex Police have also just agreed a deal with Endura to supply its officers with £51,646 of gear.

Surrey’s Chief Constable Gavin Stephens admitted last year that his force was letting communities down — as it was solving just 3.5 per cent of burglaries.

Until recently, Scottish firm Endura sponsored the Spanish elite team Movistar, with stars including Nairo Quintana and Richard Carapaz.