A thief who stole a £300 mountain bike from outside Margate train station has been fined.

Scott Welch, 27, of Sweyn Road in Cliftonville, plead guilty to the offence after being identified by a CCTV image on KentOnline.

The large silver mountain bike was taken from a locked yard used by workmen at 8.30am on March 6 last year.

British Transport Police released the CCTV image in June 2014 and the bike was returned to owner Samuel Eales via Margate Police Station.

DS Marshall said: “The thief got into the yard via the station platform, stealing the cycle before boarding a Faversham-bound train.”

The defendant was fined £205 including court costs and a victim surcharge.

Welch originally claimed the bike had been abandoned after it was left in an insecure area and he plead not guilty on February 2.