A local politician in Germany who was fed up of motorists who block cycle lanes while they pop into shops got his own back – by parking his cargo bike on the road with a cardboard sign saying he had nipped into the bakers.

Thomas Geffe, who is a member of the ‘Good Voters of Cologne’ political block, tweeted a picture of his bike with the image being widely shared, reports thelocal.de.

He said he got the idea on Saturday morning after spotting a piece of cardboard on top of his fridge and decided to put it to good use by writing the kind of excuse he typically hears from drivers who park inconsiderately.

He said: “Politicians aren’t really doing much about this,” and that the police’s attitude was that cyclists could just ride round the parked cars.

He added: “I wanted to get across the absurdity of common excuses that drivers make when they park in the cycle lane.”

Geffe said his protest did not block traffic – he jumped off the bike to take the photo, then hopped back on and rode away.