£250k of lighting to stop attackers on Birmingham towpaths

Towpaths in Birmingham will be made safer with £250,000 worth of lighting to be installed following violent muggings of cyclists.

The damaged lights along the route, now 30 years old, will be replaced by LED lights which are expected to make it a much brighter and safer environment after dark.

Two cyclists were injured last winter in attacks, including a 55 year old doctor, John Ainsworth, who was beaten up, and Kim Price, 49, whose elbow was shattered when assailants pushed her into the canal’s ice cold waters.

Following the incidents, both the police and Birmingham City Council pledged to improve safety along the canals.

But it seems that Birmingham isn’t making the most of all its infrastructure however. A Twitter user, @CCSteV, posted a picture of a bike lane that had been spruced up with a bit of white paint - with council workers painting straight over a large pot hole.

The council said it was aware of the pot hole and that it was due to be fixed.