As recently discussed on this forum I locked my bike up at a very busy junction in central London and have lost the key.

I've tried picking the lock and no luck. A locksmith quoted £75, and said that he'd have to cut the lock off. I looked into hiring a circular saw to do it myself and it would cost £20. I've informed the police that I will be doing this and they've given me a reference to quote if I'm approached by an officer on the street.

2 questions:

1. I've never used a circular saw before and I'm a bit worried about cutting my arm off or getting a metal splinter in my eye. Goggles obviously, but generally how easy are they to use? Will it just go straight through?

2. So apparently I can just phone the police and tell them I'm going to be committing a crime and they give you a pass to do it. What's the biggest thing you think you could get away with?