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A frustrated pensioner has said he’d rather “go to jail” than pay a £100 fine he was given after cycling through town. Barrie Enderby, 82, was leaving a local bank in Grimsby when he was stopped from riding his bike by a Council Officer who told him he wasn’t allowed to.
According to GrimsbyLive, the officer gave Barrie a £100 fine, issued as part of the Public Spaces Protection Order, for riding his bike through the centre of town.
The scheme was introduced back in 2019 to deal with nuisance behaviour in the town centre, such as cycling in the pedestrianised zone and drinking in the street. Since its introduction, the scheme has seen around 1,000 fines handed out and has now been extended until 2025.
However, Barrie has refused to pay the fine claiming that he hasn’t had one in the 40 years he’s been biking in Grimsby so “why should he now?” He believes the Council and their officers should be spending their time catching people for real problems rather than fining an 82-year-old man on a bike.
He explained: “I was biking through town last Thursday, October 6, locked my bike up and went into a bank on Victoria Street. As I came out, one of the council officers stopped me and said I’d be fined £100 for riding it in the street. I’ve been riding my bike around here for 40 years and have never once been fined. When he gave it to me I told him, ‘stick it up your a***’. I’m more annoyed about it because my biking is what keeps me going.”
He added: “When he told me it would be £100 I was quite frustrated, I’ve never had a problem when out on my bike before. I’ve seen all sorts going on around town in the past and they chose to give me a ticket.” The lack of signage was also something that angered Barrie after being given the fine.
He said: “I asked where the sign was to say you couldn’t bike here and he pointed at the concrete. I couldn’t believe it, you wouldn’t be looking there for the rules would you, that annoyed me even more.
“If he had just asked me not to ride my bike I would have understood and stopped out of respect, but I never got the chance.” following the incident, Barrie says he would rather go to jail than pay the fine. He explained: “I won’t be paying it, I’d rather go to prison than give them £100.
“I’ve not got £100 spare to give them that’s for sure. I don’t see why I should get penalised, but all these people speeding about on scooters seem to get no punishment.
“In my opinion, they’re much worse than a cyclist. If I’m honest, I feel hard done to and I now worry about where I can and can’t go on my bike.
“I told some of my friends about it and they said I was just easy pickings for them. I’ll still go out on my bike, but nowhere near town now. However, this has left me wondering whether it’s safe to go out on my bike at all.”
Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities for North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “If someone feels they have been wrongly given a fixed penalty notice (FPN) they can challenge it, the details are on the ticket. Shoppers, businesses and people working in the town centre often complain about nuisance cycling in the pedestrian zone.
Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for Safer and Stronger Communities
“The Grimsby Telegraph has published several stories in recent years where people have raised concerns about the problem. We recently consulted on renewing the Public Space Protection Order, which among other things prohibits cycling in the pedestrian area, and responders supported it.
“There’s no need to cycle in the pedestrian area – Bethlehem Street and Osborne Street are literally a few metres away and run parallel to it. Enforcement officers routinely patrol the town centre and there are signs to make it clear that cycling is banned. Those who choose not to pay the £100 fixed penalty notice, find themselves facing a larger bill in court.”
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