Man ordered to pay £500 for cycling through Grimsby

A 60-year-old man has been hit with a legal bill of more than £500 for cycling through a pedestrianised area of a town centre.

Andrew Billingham was found guilty of breaching a public space protection order (PSPO), designed to combat nuisance behaviour, by riding along Victoria Street in Grimsby.

He refused to pay an initial fine, claiming he had dismounted before entering Victoria Street.

But he was convicted at Grimsby Magistrates Court and fined £200 and ordered to pay £250 in costs and a victim surcharge of £80.

Cllr Ron Shepherd said: "It’s important that people understand the rules across North East Lincolnshire and adhere to them.

"Our council plan advocates a zero-tolerance policy and we constantly review how we deliver our enforcement to make sure we can effectively tackle any issues."

Grimsby became one of a number of towns to impose a cycling ban in pedestrianised zones in 2019.

It was designed to deal with nuisance behaviour in the town centre and along Cleethorpes seafront.

The order was extended in July and will now last until 2025. More than 1,000 fixed penalty notices have been issued since 2019, the bulk of which have been for cycling on Victoria Street South and walking dogs along the main beach.

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