I was disgusted to read the article on the front page of the Review where some mountain bikers thought they could bend the rules and then be silly enough to report it to a newspaper after a bailiff allegedly threatened them with a stick?
I paid a visit to this pond and was amazed at how many signposts there were, which read 'No Cycling'! There must have been seven or eight around the pond, and there was at least one on every entrance to it.
Apparently the bikers gained access from the back of the pond and you can see where a fence has been ripped down to gain access, with lots of bike tyre tracks inside the gate, which also has a sign saying 'Private No Entry'.
What intrigued me to look into this was the fact that in the previous article, it was stated that the 'one-armed man' pulled a biker off his bike and they rolled around 'near the edge of the water'. One biker said that he didn't know how they didn't fall in!
It goes on to say that the one-armed man made it clear that he was the local bailiff before picking up a stick.
In the previously published photograph it clearly shows the bailiff with a stick in his hand, but it also shows the bikers still on their bikes. Why did they not get off when they realised their mistake and after being informed that the gentleman was a bailiff?
The photograph shows a mound of earth behind the bikers, I have photographed the same mound and in the background (the way the bikers came) you can clearly see a 'No Cycling' sign, this is just one of five signs they would have passed before they reached the bailiff.
I have spoken to the bailiff involved and he told me that he made it clear from the very start that he was a bailiff and that he threatened to put the stick in the spokes of their bikes if they didn't get off. He never personally threatened any of them with it.
He admitted that he pulled one off his bike, but this was after three ignored him and just rode past him. When rolling around on the floor he told me that they were around 20 feet from the water's edge, not on top of it like stated by one of the bikers. He also told me that even after everything that happened, only one of them actually got off and pushed his bike. The others had no respect for him as a bailiff and carried on riding. The one that got off and pushed was the local businessman, the others were from out of the area!
They hurled foul abuse back at him 'from a distance' before they left.
There are always two sides to a story and after all that happened the bikers had the audacity to approach the local press.
They have shown themselves up and should be ashamed of themselves.
I hope this does not put the bailiff off and that he carries on with his good voluntary work for the fishing community. – Name and address supplied.