Police in Windsor say they are now fining people caught riding bikes in pedestrianised zones of the Berkshire town.
The crackdown, which started today, comes less than four weeks after a a 21-year-old man was jailed for 27 weeks after he crashed into a four-year-old boy in Windsor’s Peascod Street.
The child’s arm was broken after it became trapped in the wheel of the bike being ridden by Richard Manners, and the youngster also lost a tooth and sustained grazing to his face.
Manners had been warned the day before the incident in March not to ride a bike on the street, one of the main shopping locations in Windsor, and the front brake of his bicycle was not working.
At his trial last month at Reading Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to the charge of causing bodily harm through wilful misconduct.
The Ascot, Windosr & Eton Express reports that Thames Valley Police’s Windsor Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team will now be fining people who ignore ‘no cycling’ signs £50.
PCSO Lizzy Davidson said: “There have been a number of near misses and also the incident involving the four-year-old boy who was badly injured on Peascod Street.
“It’s clear that cyclists need to respect the no cycling zones and we are aware that the public have been increasingly concerned about this issue.
“We have been engaging with cyclists and the public over the past month to warn them, but if cyclists continue to break the law by riding a bike where they shouldn’t, or the wrong way down a one-way street, they will be stopped and handed a £50 fine.
“If the offending cyclist is a child then their details will be taken and they will be fined at a later date in the presence of their parents.”
She added: “We hope that cyclists take heed of the warning and stop putting others in danger in no cycling zones, however if they don’t take the warning we will be fining them.”