A PENSIONER has called for more to be done to prevent people riding bicycles on pavements before “someone gets killed” after he saw a cyclist fall into the road and almost get run over by a car.

Barry Dunmore, 71, was walking along the pavement on Bridge Street, Worcester, with his wife Rosalind, at midday on January 5, when a female cyclist attempted to manoeuvre a group of pedestrians behind the couple.

It is illegal to ride a cycle on the pavement unless it has a delineated and designated cycle lane.

“She passed the people behind us and fell off and into the road. She fell into the side of the [moving] car and knocked off the wing mirror,” said Mr Dunmore, who lives in the St John’s area.

“She got back on the pavement and had hurt her hip, but she got no sympathy from everyone. We all said she shouldn’t have been on the pavement.”

He said the cyclist, who he believed was in her 20s, said she had right of way on the pavement and that the pedestrians were in the wrong.

He said the driver of the car also pulled up and got out to confront the cyclist.

“There was arguing, and she said she had rang her bell,” said Mr Dunmore.

“She seemed to feel she had a God given right to be on the pavement.

“If it had been a lorry, she would have been killed. If it was a couple of seconds either way, she could have been under the car.”

Mr Dunmore said he regularly walks along Bridge Street in to the city centre, often encountering cyclists, weaving in and out of pedestrians on the pavements, despite the act being against the law.

“That pavement [on Bridge Street] is very narrow and if they come behind you and move slightly, you or them could end up in the road. I have been saying for months that something will happen there, that someone will get killed,” he said.

Following the incident on January 5, Mr and Mrs Dunmore then continued down the road, when the cyclist rode into the back of them while using her mobile phone.

“We left them to it and carried on walking down the road, passed the cricket ground and were waiting at the crossing at Bromwich Road about five minutes later [when she rode into him],” he explained.

“When she went into the back of me, she said: ‘Will you stop following me?’”

The 1835 Highways Act states that it is an offence to wilfully ride on a footpath by the side of a road in England and Wales.

However, levels of enforcement of the law appears to be more at the discretion of each constabulary.

The law is reflected in the Highway Code which prohibits cycling on the pavement – Rule 64: “You MUST not cycle on a pavement”.

Mr Dunmore said he felt the police need to “monitor that road more closely” to ensure cyclists understand the law or clear signage needs to be in place.

“It needs something done before someone gets killed there,” he added.

A spokeswoman for the Safer Roads Partnership said: “We work very closely with our local police officers on various issues around cyclists and pedestrian safety.”

She said there are a number of ‘Cycle Safety Stations’ across Worcester over the winter months, “focusing on early morning and evening commute times” – which focuses on visibility issues.

She added: “Regarding the issue of cyclists riding on pavements, unless this is a designated shared space – which will be indicated by signs or markings on the pavement – this is an offence and can also be dangerous to other users.”