Police have slapped 400 cyclists with fines in just 10 days as part of a crackdown on 'dangerous and irresponsible' biking.

The £30 penalty notices were handed out along Oxford Road and Wilmslow Road for offences such as running red lights, not having lights fitted, cycling on footpaths and using mobile phones whilst cycling.

Cyclists were also fined for dangerously weaving in and out of traffic.

It was part of Greater Manchester Police’s ‘Operation Grimaldi’ – with the Oxford Road corridor identified as a dangerous cycling hotspot on 10 ‘days of action’ between February and June this year.

Cyclists were given the chance to escape the fines by attending cycling awareness events at Moss Side and Withington fire stations.



Around 340 of the cyclists handed the fines took up the offer.

GMP say the operation was aimed at educating cyclists about keeping safe on the road.

PCSO Gareth Walker said: “Many of the cyclists we spoke to were not aware of the danger they put themselves and others in by the actions they were taking while failing to stop or being distracted on their phones.

“The number of killed or seriously injured on the roads has fallen over the last two years but we need to continue to educate road users of how to share the roads safely in order to ensure these numbers continue to fall.”

But a cycling campaigner said the operation was ‘one-sided’ – urged police to concentrate on motorists instead.

Pete Abel, from the Love Your Bike campaign, said: “We are in favour of taking action against people who cycle poorly and anti-socially, but we don’t see an equivalent crackdown on drivers.

“When cyclists runs a red light it is usually inconvenient, when a driver does it is downright dangerous.”

Every adult in Greater Manchester is entitled to six hours free cycle training and education about cycle safety. For more information go to www.tfgm.com/cycling.