THE Lincolnshire Echo of July 6, reports that in Gainsborough, a 66-year-old man was knocked down by a 13 to 14-year-old boy cycling on a footpath.

The pensioner suffered a broken spine and head injuries – his assailant rode away and has not been traced.

If the cycling laws have been changed to permit the council to compel pedestrians to share a footpath with cyclists, you can be sure the council will quote such change to shut up complaints.

People's concern about reckless cyclists on footpaths is now fairly low on its list of priorities.

If footpath sharing is not lawful but encouraged by the council, it must be liable for harm or damage caused by cyclists. Step forward the lawyers.

The police are no longer a service to the public but a force to be reckoned with.

The chief constables are now the Association of Chief Police Officers Ltd and are too busy running a tax payer-subsidised business to attend to mundane policing.

Reckless cyclists are a minor irritant to the police, but they are in the business of enforcing the law.

If an innocent person is injured or property is damaged by a cyclist riding on a footpath an offence has been committed and an attempt must be made to bring the matter before a court.

A collision between a pedestrian and a cyclist can cause severe injuries with life-long consequences to the pedestrian.

If the authorities will not act to protect pedestrians going about their lawful business then the pedestrians must be prepared to defend themselves.

C Cox (address supplied).

Ignored cyclists

ON Friday, July 9, I was shopping in the Victoria Street area close to the play fountains.

I saw two female police/PCSO officers talking to a cameraman in the said area, two male police/PCSO officers were also approaching them from the direction of St James' Square.

Then I watched as two young men rode their bicycles at some speed through the pedestrians, which included families with small children, narrowly avoiding hitting anyone.

To my amazement, none of the four enforcement officers either noticed or made any attempt to stop or apprehend these young people from breaking what I understand to be the law.

Perhaps the call of being caught on camera was too exciting and important for them to do anything so mundane as to apprehend lawbreakers?

Disappointed "Nimrod" (full name and address supplied).

I COULD not help but notice on the front page of the Telegraph about the attention being given to catching illegally parked motorists.

They are an easy target for the police and traffic wardens because vehicles are stationary on the street.

Think of the large amounts of fines being collected from those who are caught supposedly illegally parking.

Think also of the amounts of monies which could also be collected from cyclists illegally cycling down the pedestrianised area of Victoria Street where there are clear signs warning them to walk their bikes.

But do these cyclists take any notice of the signs and are there any police or wardens stopping them?

In all the times I have walked this street recently, during the week and on Saturdays, I have not seen one cyclist challenged.

Why have warning signs when no one takes any notice and they are not enforced?

If a pedestrian is knocked down by a cyclist and the cyclist escapes, who will the injured person seek compensation from if suffering from a serious injury?

Have the police an answer for this if they are allowing people to blatantly break the law?

I ask these questions as a law-abiding citizen who would question the even handedness of the law enforcement agencies and their ability to do the job.

Surely, if cyclists can openly ignore the law here then such people, not all of them youths, will disobey the law elsewhere and you have the seeds of vandalism and open defiance of the law.

No doubt the police will say that they have caught cyclists riding illegally, in which case I would say that there is nothing like a little publicity being given to this and some naming and shaming.

The message would soon get round.

Putting on a little pressure here might also help quell potentially more serious problems of law and order elsewhere.

A public spirited citizen (name and address supplied).

RE: cyclists on pavements, the original letter by Dr Jon Hall, on June 23, has triggered off several excellent replies covering all aspects that I was also concerned about.

In the light of this, I would just like to pick up on one point raised in a letter of July 6 about older people who take medication.

I have to take Warfarin, which thins the blood, because of a heart condition and if I were injured by a speeding cyclist I would bleed profusely.

In fact, the corner which is highlighted (Lestrange Street) is the one I frequently go round to make my way to the nearby medical centre for blood tests.

I just find it incredible that all this thought and effort is put into keeping cyclists safe, thereby compromising the safety of pedestrians who, after all, have nowhere else to go.

Maybe the Grimsby Telegraph can run one of its excellent campaigns as it has with drink-drivers and irresponsible mobile phone users.

Name and address supplied.

A Humberside Police spokesperson said of the letter entitled Ignored Cyclists:

"Tackling cyclists using the pedestrian area of Victoria Street as a cut-through is a priority for the local Neighbourhood Policing Team as this can present a number of dangers for pedestrians walking through the area.

"Whenever possible, we will take appropriate action against those failing to get off their cycles in the pedestrian area, however, on this occasion, the officers were already engaged in a piece of work relating to an ongoing incident that they could not be pulled away from, which, on this occasion, prevented them from stopping the cyclists.

"This had nothing to do with the filming that was taking place at the time as any filming we undertake is carried out with minimal impact on the officers involved, ensuring they are able to conduct their primary role without distraction.

"In this instance it is unfortunate that those who chose to ignore the rules and cycle through the pedestrian area were not stopped, however, getting away with such an act is far from being the norm, as this local concern forms one part of the priorities being tackled daily by both police and our local authority partners."

The Telegraph says

Cyclists who manoeuvre around pedestrians can – and do – cause serious injuries.

The onus is on the cyclist, just as much as the driver, to ensure their actions are safe and responsible.

An interesting comment that pavement cyclists "will disobey the law elsewhere and you have the seeds of vandalism".

Does that not put motorists who drive above the speed limit or who push through a traffic light about to turn red or who park on double yellow lines in the same bracket?