Warning after Grimsby cyclist rides into barbed wire trap

A woman from Grimsby has described how she rode into barbed wire stretched across a path while out riding her bike with her husband.

Fortunately, Kat Slater was not badly hurt in the incident, which happened on Sunday, but she has warned other cyclists to be vigilant, reports the Grimsby Telegraph

She was on a bike ride with her husband heading towards Bradley Lakes when she rode into the wire, which was stretched between two hedges across the path.

The wire was described as being around 18 inches off the ground, with its placement said to be “clearly intentional.”

Ms Slater said: “I ran into barbed wire stretched knee height across the track leading to Bradley Lakes. I actually rode into it and the barbed wire wrapped around my pedals.”

Her husband Tony spotted the wire just before she struck it and managed to shout a warning.

“I can’t say who they were trying to target or why. It may well have just been a good laugh for them,” he said.

“I caught sight of it and shouted to stop. She wasn’t going very fast – it could have been a lot worse if she was.

“I just saw this flash in front of my face. I didn’t realise what it was at first – I just shouted her to stop.”

“The sun was shining down that way so she wouldn’t have seen it. I just so happened to see this flicker in time.

“We regularly go down there,” he continued. “There’s a lot who use it – horse riders, dog walkers and people going to the lakes.”

“I’ve heard about this happening in the countryside elsewhere, but I have never heard of it here. People do a lot of silly things.

“We have warned people in our community in groups online so people now know about it,” he added. “It just shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have been there.”

We’ve reported on a number of cases across the country in which trails and paths used by cyclists have been booby-trapped with wire or fishing line stretched across them.

While such instances are often attributed to youngsters playing a prank, such traps can often result in serious injury and even death.