“Stick it up your a*se”, 82-year-old tells council officer after being fined £100 for cycling in town centre

An 82-year-old cyclist has said that he would rather go to jail than pay a fine he received for breaching a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) banning cycling in Grimsby town centre.

Barrie Enderby was leaving a bank on Victoria Street in the Lincolnshire town last week when he was issued with a £100 fine by a council officer for riding his bike in a prohibited area, GrimsbyLive reports.

In 2019 Grimsby became one of a number of towns to impose a cycling ban in pedestrianised zones, using a Public Space Protection Order. 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, was extended in July and will now last until 2025.

Over 1,000 fixed penalty notices have been issued since 2019, the bulk of which have been for cycling on Victoria Street South and walking dogs along the main beach in Cleethorpes.

> Bedford cyclists protest ‘discriminatory’ town centre bike ban 

Active travel charity Cycling UK has long been a prominent critic of PSPOs, which it claims 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.

Dollimore’s view was echoed this weekend by pensioner Barrie Enderby, who told GrimsbyLive that he has so far refused to pay the fine issued to him for cycling on Victoria Street South, which he argues only serves to discourage people from riding their bikes into town.

“I was biking through town last Thursday, October 6, locked my bike up and went into a bank on Victoria Street. As I came out, one of the council officers stopped me and said I’d be fined £100 for riding it in the street,” the 82-year-old explained.

“I’ve been riding my bike around here for 40 years and have never once been fined. When he gave it to me I told him, ‘stick it up your arse’.

“I’m more annoyed about it because my biking is what keeps me going.”

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Enderby continued: “When he told me it would be £100 I was quite frustrated, I’ve never had a problem when out on my bike before. I’ve seen all sorts going on around town in the past and they chose to give me a ticket.

“I asked where the sign was to say you couldn’t bike here and he pointed at the concrete. I couldn’t believe it, you wouldn’t be looking there for the rules would you? That annoyed me even more.

“If he had just asked me not to ride my bike I would have understood and stopped out of respect, but I never got the chance,” he claimed.

“I won’t be paying it, I’d rather go to prison than give them £100. I’ve not got £100 spare to give them, that’s for sure.

“I don’t see why I should get penalised, but all these people speeding about on scooters seem to get no punishment. In my opinion, they’re much worse than a cyclist.

“If I’m honest, I feel hard done by and I now worry about where I can and can’t go on my bike. I told some of my friends about it and they said I was just easy pickings for them.

“I’ll still go out on my bike, but nowhere near town now. However, this has left me wondering whether it’s safe to go out on my bike at all.”

> Bedford cycling ban to remain despite consultation showing most people want it scrapped 

Ron Shepherd, North East Lincolnshire Council’s portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, defended the decision to issue Mr Enderby with a fine and told GrimsbyLive that “if someone feels they have been wrongly given a fixed penalty notice (FPN) they can challenge it, the details are on the ticket”.

“Shoppers, businesses and people working in the town centre often complain about nuisance cycling in the pedestrian zone,” the Conservative politician continued.

“The Grimsby Telegraph has published several stories in recent years where people have raised concerns about the problem. We recently consulted on renewing the Public Space Protection Order, which among other things prohibits cycling in the pedestrian area, and responders supported it.

“There’s no need to cycle in the pedestrian area – Bethlehem Street and Osborne Street are literally a few metres away and run parallel to it. Enforcement officers routinely patrol the town centre and there are signs to make it clear that cycling is banned. Those who choose not to pay the £100 fixed penalty notice, find themselves facing a larger bill in court.”