THREE items in Saturday’s Daily Echo, seem to me to be interlinked.

The closing of police stations and the reduction in police numbers, the clutter of signs, obstructing the pavement in Hythe and Mrs Pamela Humphrey’s excellent letter complaining of cyclists using the footpaths.

The signs and cycling issue can be applied to any shopping thoroughfare in Southampton; Shirley, Portswood, London Road and Above Bar Street in particular.

Added to these hazards, in order to overcome the adverse effect of the smoking ban on their trade, Southampton City Council has permitted pubs, cafes and ice cream parlours, etc, to take over large areas of these footpaths, all maintained at public expense, for the cost of a licence which costs practically nothing!

The result is all pedestrians including mothers with prams and tots in tow, wheelchair users, not so agile pensioners have to run the risk of using footpaths, resembling an obstacle race course and being mowed down by speeding, inconsiderate cyclists!

My complaints to the council have been met with the response that it is an offence to cycle on the footpath and offenders risk prosecution.

My suggestion that ‘No Cycling; Fixed Penalty £50’ signs should be put up on lamp posts was met with derision.

Hundreds of cyclists break the law every day in Southampton and get away with it, simply because there are no policemen around to enforce it; ask yourself, when did you last see a policeman on the beat in a busy shopping area, or come to that, anywhere?

What will inevitably happen, is that a vulnerable person, a child or an OAP will be seriously injured or killed and then, typical of this country, endless investigations and public inquiries will commence, all aimed at passing the buck and shifting responsibility!

Shut the door before the horse bolts!

MR T M REES, Southampton.

Editor's note: Many - but not all - of the pavements and footpaths in Southampton are designated as shared use, meaning cyclists are entitled to use them, just as pedestrians are. This is indicated by round, blue signs showing both a person and a bike. This PDF shows recommended routes for cyclists throughout the city.