“I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped; Gumtree 'entrapment' thief arrested; More nails spotted on mtb trail; 'Costagate' continues; Council get serious over planter removal + more on the live blog

"Sorry, I thought you were letting me past"
"No, I'm playing with my phone! " (proudly shows me his phone). Right-o. pic.twitter.com/ZCodclRzsv

— Joolz Pedals (@JoolzPedals) June 5, 2020

It would be highly amusing if it wasn't so dangerous, as the driver of this trailer-towing Ford Ranger seems to think playing on your phone is a reasonable excuse for crawling along a country lane, before coming to a stop and then moving off again.

According to the cyclist who shot the footage it happened near Kittochside in East Kilbride, where she was faced with the vehicle moving very slowly on the country lane. It then comes to a stop and the cyclist thinks he is letting her overtake, but then the vehicle starts to move. She said to the driver “I thought you were letting me past”, to which he cheerfully replied: “No, I was just playing on my phone."

The cyclist claims he then proudly showed off his mobile to advertise the fact. After hearing the driver’s explanation, the cyclist can be heard saying: “Absolute cracker". Not the sharpest tool in the box and one that hopefully can be prosecuted with a number plate clearly visible...

Back to work 👊 pic.twitter.com/hBvJJVCc0j

— Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix (@A_ParisRoubaix) June 4, 2020

The rearranged classic will now take place on the 25th October, which means those responsible for maintaining the brutal cobbles on route are back after some time out due to the pandemic.

If you weren't aware, Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix are a volunteer organisation formed in 1983, who work year-round to preserve the pavé so it's rideable in time for Paris-Roubaix each year; if it wasn't for them, it's unlikely the race would feature many of the cobbled sections at all.

Graeme Rooney will be hugely missed across our communities. All of us held him in the highest regard; a decent, kind man and dedicated public servant. I am so saddened to think of his family’s unimaginable heartbreaking loss.https://t.co/QE91YCq0dU

— Dan Carden MP (@DanCardenMP) June 5, 2020

The incident occurred on 2nd June near Altcar in West Lancashire when Inspector Rooney was out on a bike ride with friends, and he was pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital shortly afterwards. Tributes have now been laid at the scene, including flowers and water bottles.

Chief Constable Andy Cooke said in a tribute statement: "Following the sudden and tragic death of Inspector Graeme Rooney on Tuesday evening I wanted to take time out to pay tribute to an officer who was respected across the board and served the force impeccably for more than 27 years.

"Many of you will have heard the phrase 'an officer and a gentleman', and this sums Graeme up perfectly."

Police say that the Ford Transit Tipper van that Inspector Rooney collided with was travelling in the opposite direction, and are appealing for witnesses. Anyone with information can call 101, quoting log number 1405 of June 2nd.

Noooo pls us parking space not bike lane

Hahaha car go vroom vroom pic.twitter.com/t5AbBueckk

— maidstoneonbike (@maidstoneonbike) June 5, 2020

Hopefully a fine and/or police caution will be winging its way to the drivers of these vehicles blatantly left on a London cycle route.

My brilliant neighbour Joey is a mental health nurse.
Last night her bike was stolen.
It turned up on Gumtree - but when she gave police the name and address of the thief, they said they couldn't help because her investigative work would make it entrapment.
This is NUTS. pic.twitter.com/AmyxsWGzWi

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 3, 2020

@theJeremyVine I am keen we resolve this for Joey and provide an appropriate level of service. Please can you send me the relevant details including reference numbers and I’ll make sure the matter is looked into. Thank you.

— Andy Cox (@SuptAndyCox) June 3, 2020

We reported yesterday that a mental health nurse named Joey had her bike stolen after a 12-hour shift on Wednesday. The theft was caught on CCTV and she found it for sale on Gumtree, which appears to be more than enough for police to trace the offender... but bizarrely, officers told her it would be 'entrapment' if they intervened because of her prior investigative work into the crime (which is completely false, just in case anyone wasn't aware). Gumtree also refused to take the ad down.

As you'll see above Joey's neighbour Jeremy Vine intervened, and then eventually Superintendent Andy Cox intervened...

Further update......

A male suspect has been charged with theft and has been remanded in custody awaiting a first court hearing today.

I will look into initial response and consider any potential learning needed. https://t.co/NhqwX35qxJ

— Andy Cox (@SuptAndyCox) June 5, 2020

And this morning, Superintendent Cox said that a male suspect has been charged with theft and has been remanded in custody. He also suggests that police colleagues who might need to do some brushing up on the law may be getting a talking to...

The latest example of mind-boggling stupidity in the form of traps that appear to have been set up to harm cyclists is this one from a trail on Cannock Chase in the West Midlands. 

Originally shared on a local Facebook group yesterday, the person responsible for setting the trap near the village of Brocton appears to have taken considerable time and effort, with spikes carefully embedded into a large tree root. One person wrote: "Someone took hours to do all that. What a spiteful potential danger to walkers, children and animals, not to mention bikers!"

It's not the first example we've seen, and unfortunately probably won't be the last, of cyclists spotting and sometimes falling victim to traps; late last month a cyclist was injured when he rode into a wire trap on a trail in South Wales, and three weeks previously two pensioners admitted on camera to laying branches across a trail in North Yorkshire in a warped attempt to stop cyclists from using it. 

And now fixed, with extra planters, all fixed to the ground! Thank you! pic.twitter.com/JcQEp1mBPU

— HammersmithBridge.org.uk (@HammersmithBri1) June 5, 2020

The road under this bridge in London has been closed to motor traffic, but it appears some didn't want to play ball and decided to move the planters intended to stop cars from getting through... so the council added a couple more, including a great big massive one with a tree on it in the middle. Chapeau to those responsible!

When will bus stops learn to use hi viz? pic.twitter.com/jIDPaSeyle

— London 🚲 Rider (not a scourge hoodlum in lycra) (@LondonBicyler) June 4, 2020

Has it never heard of 'be safe, be seen'? And while we're here...

PAY ROAD TAX pic.twitter.com/NTWC1HkHOQ

— 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Martin Porter 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@TheCyclingScot) May 27, 2020

If your gravel bike has a very appropriate earthy green-coloured frame, then you'll be wanting these tyres with an olive sidewall to match - the limited edition G-One Ultrabite Gravel tubeless tyre will be available from specialist bike shops this month, in a 40mm size and priced at €59.90 (we don't have a UK price yet).

With changing transport now & after Lockdown. To support safe #Cycling Traffic 👮‍♂️ patrols intensified in Urban Roads. Extreme speeding enforcement increased
➖20mph 1,167%
➖30mph 151%
We encourage #Headcam use & reporting traffic offences; improves #TooCloseForComfort awareness. pic.twitter.com/tlfGypTcDK

— Andy Cox (@SuptAndyCox) June 5, 2020

Superintendent Andy Cox says that patrols have increased to support safe cycling, with headcam footage of traffic offences encouraged to deal with the problem.

Want tips on getting decent camera evidence to the police? We have a guide for that.