MOTORBIKE riders in Winchester are being warned to be extra vigilant after a strip of wire was found strung between two posts in a city car park.

The trap, which could have caused serious injury, had been tied at neck height between two posts on the top deck of the Royal Hampshire County Hospital car park.

Police in the city have issued a serious warning to riders to be on the lookout for any similar devices and have praised guards at the hospital for finding it before anyone got hurt.

Local bike dealers have also called the act irresponsible and are urging riders to take extra care and always wear the proper protective gear.

The wire was found by a security guard on a routine check. Officers say it appears the offenders used material belonging to contractors working on the site.

There have been no further reports of similar incidents and steps were immediately taken by the hospital and the contractors to ensure it could not happen again.

A spokesman for the hospital said: "This is an isolated incident. It was a complete one-off which was spotted and rectified immediately."

Inspector Kevin Baxman of North Walls Police Station in Winchester, said: "Obviously, we can only speculate at the motives behind this person's actions, but this type of stunt is incredibly irresponsible and could have serious consequences for motorcycle users.

"The wire cannot be easily seen and could easily cause a rider to come off their machine.

"It may be that the person who did this didn't realise the possible consequences of their actions and I hope that we don't see an incident like this occur in the city again."

He added that measures to ensure the biking community were aware of the incident were under way.

Ben Thomson, sales manager at Moto Rapido in Easton Lane in Winchester, said: "This is a shocking thing to have happened.

"I suppose riders will just have to take extra care in areas where wire could be tied like that, and to make sure they're wearing the right amount of protective gear.

"It's irresponsible, stupid and very dangerous."

However, it is not the first time such a trap has been reported to police.

In August last year a 13-year-old BMX rider was badly injured when he rode into wire hooked-up between two trees at a popular biking track in Buckland Rings in Lymington.