Bicycle barney

THE principle of "health and safety" is sound. It has also saved countless lives. Yet the reason that this phrase is one of the most unpopular in the English language is because of the way rules are interpreted and enforced.

By The Newsroom

Published 7th Sep 2010, 22:50 BST

Updated 7th Sep 2010, 22:50 BST

Take Melanie Liu whose three-year-old son, Jude, has been admonished for riding his bike, complete with stabilisers for added safety, in a Scarborough park – because it contravened a bylaw that was passed 60

years ago.

It was a classic case of officialdom ruling over common sense. For not only is the bylaw poorly advertised, but where else do the park wardens concerned expect little Jude to learn to ride a bicycle, a rite of passage for all young children? On a busy and dangerous road?

No. What the council needs to realise is that there is a world of difference between a three-year-old on stabilisers and gangs of youths cyclists riding irresponsibly, and dangerously, on footpaths, but, presumably this is so obvious that it was not spelled out in a "health and safety" manual.

Scarborough