WORCESTER’S top policeman told residents he was more concerned with solving a murder investigation than catching cyclists riding on pavements.

Chief Superintendent Rod Reynolds agreed it was a criminal offence to ride on pavements, but said policing the law was a question of balancing resources.

But he said his officers would fine cyclists if there were aggravating features.

Mr Reynolds was speaking at a policing matters meeting on Tuesday, October 14, where residents had raised concerns about the increasing number of cyclists riding on pavements and the danger they posed to pedestrians.

As previously reported in your Worcester News, 37-year-old Richard Perkins died in an arson attack on his home in The Glade, Malvern, on Monday.

His wife and three step-children escaped the blaze, although two remain unconscious in hospital on ventilators.

Stephen George-Davies has since been charged with murder and arson with intent to endanger life and is in custody.

Mr Reynolds said: “The balance is what is the best use of public money. I have between 50 and 60 officers dealing with a murder.

“Do you want them to be concentrating on cyclists or the more serious issues?

“The murder for me is far more important than chasing cyclists. I am not going to persecute cyclists.”

Worcester resident Lawrence Copson said he felt the issue was getting worse in Worcester.

“When you step off the bus you do not look and all of a sudden you get a cyclist,” he told the meeting.

Mr Reynolds said there was a tension between cyclists, cars and pedestrians. “Young people, or any people, are going to get their bikes off the roads because it is dangerous,” he said.

It is an offence to cycle on the pavement, and you can be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £30 for doing so.