Sponsored by
Warning as cyclists find nail traps
Cyclists were horrified when they found a spiked trap buried along a popular biking route.
Five of the man-made traps – each with three inch nails attached to a small piece of wood – were found by members of Team Adrenaline on Wheelton Moor, near Chorley.
Paul King, 50, of Walton-le-Dale, said: "There's about 30 of us in a group who go all over. It was a local run we did about a year ago and we all got punctures at a certain spot.
"I looked at the inner tube and thought it was barbed wire."
Then members of the group made the same trip last month and once again fell victim to punctures.
Determined to find out what was causing them, Paul and his fellow cyclists revisited the fell armed with a powerful metal detector and were shocked to find the contraptions.
Paul said: "There are a lot of fell runners round there. Can you imagine landing on that in a pair of trainers?
"We buried them in the stone wall nearby. There may be others but we didn't find any."
Paul sent the pictures to the Evening Post to warn people in the area to be aware of what could be hidden in the ground.
He added: "The police have an open mind on who would lay such traps.
"But they were saying maybe grouse shooting.
"If somebody has a vendetta against grouse shooters, they might be hoping to pop the tyres on their 4x4."
A spokesman for United Utilities, which owns the land, said: "The police have been in touch with us about this and we are helping them investigate who might be responsible."
>> Vote in our latest web poll
>> Have your say on our special traffic and travel rantline
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
