Regarding the controversy concerning cycling on the Kirklees trail.

The law requires a new cycle to be fitted with a bell at the point of sale — a law that has been blatantly flouted by all concerned for decades.

Curiously, there is no statutory requirement insisting a bike retains its bell after it has exited said retail outlet.

What a positively asinine outlook the law appears to portray in respect of this particular subject. E.U. D.N.A. is much in evidence.

As I recall, back in the 1950s and beyond, it was a legal requirement to have a working bell on a cycle.

A law that was enthusiastically implemented by our old police forces, who often prosecuted bikers in charge of machines that did not, in their official jargon, 'incorporate an audible means of approach'.

If that long defunct legislation was revisited it would help minimise an increasingly contentious problem.

A problem created solely by a cyclist's speed differential & stealth of approach, often catching pedestrians & animals unawares on shared nature trails and pathways in general.

Brexit heralds a gloriously opportunistic opening for this effective, long ignored safety accoutrement to be sensibly reestablished on our nation's cycles. And, in the name of pedestrian safety, its usage, once again, rigorously enforced.

Pete Haworth

Holcombe Road

Greenmount