For the third time thieves have snuck up the narrow back walk of her St.

George's home, come into her backyard, and made off with her children's bikes.

The most recent rip-off happened on Monday at midday when persons unknown boldly snatched three brand-new BMX cycles stored in a shed and belonging to sons Alan, 13, Jared, 10, and cousin Icen Robinson, 14.

Now they are fighting back. Mrs. Outerbridge and her sister-in-law, Carolyn Robinson, are offering a $100 reward for the return of the bikes intact.

"I don't care where they leave them, they can mail them to us or phone and say they've put them in Tobacco Bay. I don't care. I just want those bikes back,'' Ms Outerbridge yesterday told The Royal Gazette .

The BMX cycles -- barely three months old -- are a chrome Hoffman Egg, a blue Hoffman Sugarbaby, and a chrome Mongoose.

While Mrs. Outerbridge has her suspicions, the most she'll say is children from the community are responsible and she's appealing to parents to keep on the lookout for them.

She is however, not hopeful of a safe return. The last time Alan's bike was stolen it was found in St. David's -- in pieces -- with the pedals attached to another bike.

Because the bikes were not marked, said Mrs. Outerbridge, Police in St.

George's said the parts would be impossible to trace and admitted there was little they could do.

"There are old bike graveyards all around here,'' she says. "They asked me if we'd gone to look for them there.'' The theft is particularly hard to take for eldest son Alan, who worked at the Hamilton's Supermart to save enough to buy his own bike.

"There's like this bike underworld around here and the unfortunate thing is we're raising our children to have values and to work for what they want, then along come kids who are just envious,'' said Mrs. Outerbridge.

Added Icen's mother, Carolyn Robinson: "It seems like the pedal bike business is getting to be as bad as the motorbike bike business.''