I REFER to the letter in the Echo on Saturday, June 11, describing the way a gentleman was nearly run down by a cyclist on the footpath alongside Holes Bay.

The footpath alongside the Hamworthy side of Holes Bay is just that, a footpath and not a cycle route. The council has a double-sided map ‘Cycleways and Footpath’ clearly showing a red dotted line as a shared cycle route going along the quiet estate roads, from the Upton House entrance, Symes Road, Hewitt Road, Inglesham Way and into Harkwood Drive.

On the reverse map there is a red solid line showing the footpath beside Falconer Drive and Symes Road up to the railway line, with the legend ‘Public right of way. Footpath for walkers only. No cyclists, motorcycles or cars’.

We get many cyclists on this footpath, and if challenged they are all adamant that it is a cycle way, but if they can be bothered to get a copy of this official map, they will see that they are wrong.

The footpath is a favourite walk for families with small children running about, elderly folk and dog walkers.

There have been many near misses and many heated confrontations, but the council or police won’t do anything about the situation because there hasn’t been an accident. I have brought this up many times in the past. We’re told to sue for injuries these days, so cyclists on this path could be well out of pocket in an accident, as they are in the wrong and cycling along this path illegally.

A lot of cyclists are slow and considerate, but small children, elderly or deaf adults, dogs and dog leads do not mix well with speeding lycra clad, helmeted cyclists with a foul vocabulary.

It’s only a matter of time before we get a serious incident.

JOAN M WRIGHT, Symes Road, Hamworthy, Poole