The rules about cycling have been changed in the UK in comparatively recent times, SRS. Back when I was a keen cyclist, riding a bicycle on the pavement was absolutely forbidden, as was riding without an ‘audible warning of approach’ (usually a bell), and riding at night without front and rear lights.

In recent years, the requirement for an ‘audible warning of approach’ has been abandoned, many riders simply ignore the requirement for lights at night, and many local authorities encourage cyclists to ride on the pavement, even marking the pavements to indicate that cycling there is acceptable. This is certainly the case in my part of the Lincolnshire Backwoods. Add to that the fact that, where separate cycle lanes are provided, they are frequently ignored by cyclists who just ride on the pavement anyway.

I’m very much a pedestrian since I retired eleven years ago - I do drive when and where necessary, but I try to walk a minimum of five miles each day - and I’ve become very aware of how vulnerable pedestrians are, and how reckless many cyclists are. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve narrowly escaped being hit from behind by cyclists (and E-scooter-riders, for that matter) speeding and weaving around on the pavement when, owing to their not having an ‘audible warning of approach’, I had absolutely no idea they were there.

I find it rather surprising that so many cyclists - a group who constantly draw public attention to their vulnerability on the roads - appear to have so little regard for the vulnerability of pedestrians on the pavement.