'Mounties' swoop on rogue cyclists to impose £30 fines

Police on bicycles equipped with flashing blue lights, sirens and helmet cameras are swooping on cyclists who jump red lights in the City.

A BBC documentary, Road Rage, The Battle For Britain's Roads today shows riders being handed £30 fines for ignoring the signals.

Since the launch of the congestion charge the number of cyclists in the City of London has rocketed by 43 per cent. But police say hundreds ignore the rules of the road.

Mike Bowron, City of London police commissioner, says there is "a significant minority, known as Lycra louts, who are literally trying to dominate the road and they are a sort of clan".

Police dismiss a recent report claiming cyclists can be safer if they jump red lights.

The programme shows children in south London shaming cyclists who jump red lights on pedestrian crossings. On one school crossing as many as 60 cyclists jump the red lights each morning. Mother Susan Bewle says: "Children rely on the green man to tell them it is safe to cross - but that's when cyclists come through at speed."