Hello! Are we mad???
By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
A cyclist suffered minor neck injuries when he hit a wire which had been tied across a pathway in Surrey.
Police said the man in his 50s was knocked off his bike when his neck hit the wire as he cycled along the path in Earlswood, near Redhill.
The incident happened between Asylum Arch Road and Horley Road during the early hours of Wednesday.
The thick cord, believed to be black speaker cable, had to be removed using wire cutters.
Det Sergeant Karl Humphrey said: "To some this may seem like a practical joke and perhaps the offenders intended it to be a funny prank, but what they did had potentially life-threatening consequences.
"This appears to be an isolated incident and it is extremely fortunate the victim was not more seriously injured. We are taking this incident very seriously and I would urge anyone who can provide me with the names of those behind this irresponsible act to come forward."
Something similar has been happening in Nonsuch Park a while back when a wire had been stretched across an area frequented by youngsters on BMX bikes and where they had made [illegal] jumps.
The wire in that incident would have been capable of doing damage to a child coming down the hill at speed as it would have hit him directly at neck height. Luckily it was found by an adult riding his mountain bike and taking the wire across the chest, causing bruising.
At a later stage a ranger was made aware of the fact that in the same area a section of barbed wire had been put across the path, once again in order to injure a young person riding his BMX bike.
Those are no pranks but, to all intents and purposes, must be seen and treated as what it is, namely “attempted murder” and the charge should state that as well.
© 2011
