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Hundreds of police officers were deployed across London today in a road safety blitz after the death of six cyclists in a fortnight.

The officers were stationed at the capital’s most dangerous junctions and handed out fixed penalty notices to those breaking the law.

It comes after six cyclists died in two weeks in collisions with lorries, buses, and coaches.

Today’s operation, during the morning and evening rush hours, saw 650 officers at 60 sites across London.

The road safety crackdown will eventually see 2,500 Metropolitan Police officers enforcing the law at 166 junctions marked as the “worst” for collisions.

Ben Watson, who was taking his two children to school in a “cargo bike” this morning, was stopped near Euston Station before being released after it was decided he had done nothing illegal.

The 57-year-old, who criticised the officer for not knowing the law, said: “This policeman called me over and said ‘is that bike legal?’ I thought ‘well you’re the policeman surely you should be telling me whether its legal or not’”.

The house husband from Somers Town added: “I think it seems a bit unfair as this operation is making out cyclists are the problem when it is actually cars that are the problem.

“I know my lights, I know where I’m going. I’ve been taking the kids to school on this route for four years, I know what I’m doing.”

Speaking just hours after the fifth cyclist died as a result of a crash on London’s roads in just nine days, Boris Johnson claimed cyclists and their “hasty, rash decisions” were “endangering” their lives.

Matthew Gidley, 42, who works in marketing and commutes by train from Birmingham before getting on his bike, said: “I’ve always felt safe cycling in London, but what the Mayor said about cyclists needing to be more aware sends a coded message to drivers that cyclists are in the wrong.

“There’s the feeling that the ‘swarms of cyclists’ have somehow got out of control and now they deserve this or something. That needs to be reigned in a bit.”

But lorry driver, Ian Arnold, 58, from Essex, disagreed. He said: “Cyclists take liberties, they drive all over the place and come up down the side of the road, they go through red lights, everything. When the police are here they behave but usually they’re all over the place. I drive in central London so I see it all the time.”

Last Monday, the Met carried out spot-checks on cyclists and HGVs in Vauxhall.

In four hours, the officers stopped 70 lorries and issued 15 fixed penalty notices for offences such as the vehicles not being fit for the road.

They also stopped 100 cyclists, who were given safety advice.