POLICE are appealing after a man was knocked off his bike by wire stretched across Egremont promenade.

The man was cycling down the promenade at around 9.20pm yesterday when he rode into some wire that had been stretched across the pathway, knocking him off his bike.

He received cuts and bruises as a result of the incident.

In December another Wirral cyclist had a lucky escape when he narrowly avoided a trip wire stretched across the same spot which used the rope from a nearby lifebelt.

Local community inspector Paul Harrison said: “Thankfully on this occasion, the injuries the man suffered are superficial, but this could have been much worse. This was a completely reckless and dangerous thing to do and the victim has understandably been left distressed by what happened to him.

“While we are treating this as an isolated incident, as we move into Spring we will be giving this area and the whole of the waterfront extra police attention.

“Today PCSOs will be out and about in the area and we continue to work with other agencies to get the message out there that we will there that the promenade is there for the use and enjoyment of everyone and that anyone who commits offences will be dealt with.

“We are examining CCTV from the area and enquiries are on-going to trace the person responsible for this incident.”

Anyone with information about this incident, or who witnesses anti-social behaviour or criminal offences in this area should contact police via 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.