More cyclists fined for riding bikes through town centre – months on from rider ordered to pay £1,100

A council has once again shared news of joint patrols with a police force to stop and fine cyclists who ride through a town centre.

North East Lincolnshire Council and Humberside Police fined seven people in the latest 'action day' enforcing a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) banning cycling in pedestrianised areas of Grimsby town centre to "deter potential rule breakers" and "provide an extra layer of safety for the public".

In June, a female cyclist was ordered to pay over £1,100 in fines and costs for riding her bike through the town centre, just months after unhappy locals claimed that the council was imposing the cycling ban unfairly and targeting "old and slow" cyclists, instead of cracking down on anti-social behaviour.

Those allegations came last autumn after an 82-year-old was fined £100, prompting the pensioner to tell the council to stick the penalty "up your a*se". "I'd rather go to prison than give them £100," Barrie Enderby said at the time.

The latest patrols, carried out alongside officers from Humberside Police, saw seven people fined the £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN). This followed action on 4 July that saw six people fined, not long after an offender was ordered to pay a £1,150 court bill, including a £600 fine, £226 costs and £264 victim surcharge following failure to pay the FPN.

Councillor Ron Shepherd questioned how people were still receiving fines, suggesting it's "easy to avoid a fine [...] just get off your bike and walk".

"Despite our officers instigating rigorous measures to ensure that people are not breaking the protection orders, it is beneficial for a team to be visible to help deter potential rule-breakers and offer a reassuring presence to those who visit Victoria Street to shop, socialise and enjoy local services," he said.

"Individuals who participate in anti-social behaviour damage the bustling urban environment so these checks help provide an extra layer of safety for the public as they can see that action is being taken.

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"It's easy to avoid a fine for cycling in the town centre. Just get off your bike and walk along the relatively short stretch of pavement. I’m grateful to everyone who does so and I ask that others do the same."

The PSPO has been in force along Victoria Street since 2019 and was extended in 2022 to run until at least 2025. The PSPO, which North East Lincolnshire Council claims was introduced to deal with nuisance, anti-social and dangerous behaviour in the town centre and along Cleethorpes seafront has seen over 1,000 FPNs issued since 2019, the bulk of which have been for cycling on Victoria Street South and walking dogs along the main beach in Cleethorpes.

Cycling UK has been critical of PSPOs, which it says have the effect of criminalising cycling. 

"Some councils have used PSPOs as a geographically defined version of an ASBO to restrict the use of public space and criminalise behaviour not normally regarded as illegal," Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK's head of campaigns, has previously said.

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The Grimsby PSPO has been controversial throughout its enforcement, with a backlash from locals last October leading to accusations that the council officers were targeting "old and slow" riders while ignoring youths "racing up and down".

In social media posts shared at the time, one person said they witnessed the aforementioned incident which saw 82-year-old Mr Enderby fined and said there had been "other young lads riding past" who officers "didn't bother to stop".

Another claimed she had been "targeted", while someone else reported seeing "three youths doing wheelies and racing up and down" while a council officer "just stood [by]".

In one reply a local woman said: "Catching all the wrong ones... I sat and watched them all last week, only targeting the old and slow cyclists that aren't in anyone's way."