Footage shows a tourist and an elderly woman being hit as riders shoot red lights or career along the pavement
Illegal bike races in which gangs of “cyclist thugs” break road rules while competing for cash prizes are putting pedestrians’ lives at risk, an investigation by The Telegraph has revealed.
Analysis of footage filmed by entrants in so-called “alleycat races” in London, Glasgow and Bristol show near misses with a small boy, as well as a tourist and an elderly woman being hit as cyclists shoot red lights or career along the pavement.
Many competitors are seen riding fixed wheel bikes – “fixies” – which are illegal on public roads because they have no front brakes.
The investigation’s findings have renewed calls for the Government to close a loophole that means cyclists who kill or maim while riding recklessly face only up to two years in jail under 1860s legislation intended for horse-drawn carriages. In contrast, motorists who cause death by dangerous driving can be jailed for life.