He's been knocked down by a truck in the Chilean desert, chased by a mob through the streets of Haiti, burnt by a volcano in Central America, and arrested and shot at more times than he cares to remember.

But in 44 years on the road, covering 335,000 miles or more than ten times around the Earth, Heinz Stücke has always had his lucky bicycle for company - until this week, when the German 'Bike Man' had it stolen within a few hours of arriving in the UK.

Herr Stücke, 66, arrived in Portsmouth on Sunday evening of a ferry from the French port of Le Havre and put up his tent nearby. A few hours later, at 3am on Monday, he realised that his bike - which he had tied up with rope and bungee cord - had gone missing.

He told the Portsmouth News: "I always sleep with my tent door open so that I can see it.'I woke up at 3am and I immediately thought 'I must check my bike' – like I always do. But when I looked outside, it was gone."

The stolen three-speed bicycle, on which the record-breaking cyclist has ridden since he started his "endless journey" in 1962, is black with two sets of handlebars to allow Herr Stücketo change his riding position. It is also covered with stickers from around the world.

Herr Stücke got the cycling bug as a child, cycling through the German countryside on his holidays. He took his first extended trip in 1958, around the Mediterranean, and set off again a year later pedalling more than 10,000 miles through 20 countries.

Finally in 1962, with John F Kennedy still in the White House, he set off for good.

Pc Paul Jones, the Portsmouth policeman who received the report of the theft, has taken pity on the cyclist and arranged for him to receive another bike from police lost property.

Herr Stücke said that he appreciated the gesture but added that he would keep on hunting for the old one.

"I would do anything to get my bike back - I'm emotionally attached to it," he said.

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