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news
mtb trail trap - via facebook.PNGHorrific “medieval” trap using sharpened stakes placed on mountain biking trail near Newcastle
Police have confirmed that an horrific “medieval” style trap placed on a popular mountain biking trail near Newcastle-upon-Tyne has been removed, with social media users expressing concern that someone could have been seriously injured or even killed by the obstacle.
The picture of the trap, placed on the Powerline Trail at Chopwell Wood, appears to have been taken over the weekend by Facebook user Mick Stephenson who said in a post on the social network: “No matter what your views on MTB trails are.
“This is an inexcusable and barbaric way to express it . Some people need some serious therapy.”
He added that the sight of the trap had left him “speechless.”
No matter what your views on mtb trails are. This is an inexcuseable and barbaric way to express it . Some people need...
Posted by Mick Stephenson on Monday, April 26, 2021
Comprising sharpened wooden stakes angled towards an oncoming rider, the trap bears a strong resemblance to ‘Archer’s stakes’ reputed to have first been used as a defence against cavalry by Turkish archers at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, where a Crusader army was routed.
Similar defences were deployed by Henry V when his longbowmen helped secure a stunning victory at Agincourt in 1415, with the French knights unable to penetrate the rows of sharpened stakes protecting the archers.
One person commenting on the Facebook thread about the trap at Chopwell Wood said: “A few years back there was fishing line and wire pulled across the track at neck and torso height.
“Thankfully we walked the route as we had heard reports. Utterly disgusting behaviour I hope the police are made aware.”
The image was also shared on Twitter.
Wtf some medevvil shit
— matty lyons (@madmatty19) April 27, 2021
Northumbria Police confirmed to road.cc that they had been notified of the trap yesterday and that the barrier has since been removed, with no injuries caused.
A Force spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable to deliberately obstruct a biking trail as it could cause serious harm to riders.
“We would ask any suspicious behaviour is reported to us using the Tell us Something page on our website.”
A spokesperson for Forestry England, who manage Chopwell Wood, said: “We strongly condemn the actions of anyone who deliberately puts the safety of any forest user at risk.
“The obstacle was reported to us, and by the time our staff had arrived on site it appeared to have been removed, we are undertaking a wider check of the area for any other related issues over the coming days. We have reported the incident to the local police.”
We’ve reported on a number of traps set on mountain bike trails and cycle paths over the years, and such incidents appear to have been on the rise since the initial national lockdown that came into force a little over a year ago.
Just last month, we reported how the charity that manages the Malvern Hills was “gravely concerned” after barbed wire was discovered strung across trails at the Worcestershire beauty spot.
> Barbed wire strung across Malvern Hills cycling trails
And in Edinburgh, a cyclist was seriously injured last month when he fell off his bike after crashing into barbed wire stretched across a popular cycle route in the Scottish capital.
> Cyclist seriously injured as wire strung across Edinburgh cycle path
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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31 comments
I have held back thus far, but I have to say it.
Grrr. The word is "mediaeval". I know that, cos I looked it up in an encyclopaedia.
Both variants are allowed. Dont you just love the english language?
Do you mean "encyclopedia"?
'Do you mean "encyclopedia"?'
Only in America. On this side of the pond it's "encyclopaedia" or even "encyclopædia".
Hmm, you may want to review the sequence of posts.
don't you mean 'mediæval" ?
You must have a better keyboard than mine, Dave - my keyboard doesn't have an 'ash' key...
I prefer media-evil, but we might not be talking about the same thing.
Not that it's not a reprehensible act, but if it was 'an attempt to kill someone', it strikes me as a peculiarly incompetent one. Sure you'd have to be spectactularly unobservant to manage to injure yourself on that?
The trouble is not seeing the bit behind the camera man, it could be on an exit to a downhill banked bend.
This is a video of the trail in question although not sure where the trap is placed along it but very twisty in places
With all due respect, would you be looking for something like that? Would you even recognise it until you were impaled on a spike? You simply wouldn't expect it, especially if you'd ridden the trail a dozen times before.
night riding
Fair point.
Possibly fair too. From the video it doesn't look like the spot in the photo matches any of the fast/twisty sections, but, as you say, it's hard to place.
I still think, though, that if you were genuinely trying to harm someone, you'd go for something easier to miss, like stringing wire across the track.
As it is a new fence panel , I suspect the centre was fencing off some parts in the woods and the "jokers" decided to move it to that location on the track to see what would happen. I don't think they deliberately went there initially to do it (although I don't know the politics of the area over the woods usage). However I suspect if they were using wire fences and left a wire spool out, they would have used that. The same type of people who would throw rocks off a bridge onto the road below, and if someone was harmed, would state it wasn't their intention.
As for the trail, this is the profile and it is listed as fast and twisting.
They tried to murder or badly injure ppl for fun. Same as the people who murdered the emergency worker on an ambulance with a rock.
In Edinburgh they have been a ton of rock attacs on moving vehicles "for fun", and the police does not take it as seriously as they should.. only when Lothian buses said "no service" and went viral did they move.
Why write ways to injure someone on a bike on a website for cycilest. Sorry the medeveal spike is not a good way to injure someone for you maybe the person who put it there will take your advice and run a wire accroses a trail.
S'ok, rod liddle and matthew parris have already given such sage advice.
Your not really looking for some sort of medevial weapon to kill you when your out on your MTB.
"Chopwell Wood would be great if it wasn't for all the damn vampires..."
Sommeone has put a LOT of effort into that construction...
Is it me or is it just a rudimentary fence panel they have found and stuck there?
It's got that look about it. I can't quite tell if it's actually dug into the ground at either side or if it's just been leant on the tree at the left. Still bloody nasty!
I wasn't sure at first but now I think you are onto something
Looks like it.. some jerk found it and put it upside down against a tree; he'll be very happy to have achieved some anonymous notoriety for his act of stupidity.
I used to ride Chopwell a lot in the late 90s, obstructions were commonplace then as well, never saw anything that savage though!
"Northumbria Police confirmed to road.cc that they had been notified of the trap yesterday and that the barrier has since been removed, with no injuries caused."
Are there any plans to investigate this? Inquiring minds want to know if this is the end of police action and no further enquiries are ongoing.
No. Clearly this kind of criminal sabotage and threat to life won't be taken seriously until someone dies, and I'm not sure it will be even then.
This one looks a little more than just an obstuction to the trail too, Northumbria police.
It looks like a deliberate attempt to cause harm.
Imagine riding down a familier trail in the twilight or full darkness with good lights...
Imagine finding a trap intended to kill people, and the police only release a statement about it being bad, but do nothing else.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that we have to imagine...
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