M25 Cyclist Fined

25 February 2014, 15:52 | Updated: 25 February 2014, 21:13

A cyclist's been fined £50 for riding along the M25 after a mobile phone app told him it was the best way to get home from work.

The misguided rider ended up pedalling for several miles on the southern section of the motorway in Surrey during the morning rush-hour on Tuesday 25 February 2014.

He had not realised cycling on the hard shoulder is illegal.

With drivers, and others, taking to Twitter to give their views of the man, there were long hold-ups for morning traffic on the often-clogged motorway.

One police officer tweeted that the cyclist had been seen between junctions 12 and 13 of the motorway. He was eventually removed from the motorway and given a £50 fine.

Another police tweet said: "A male was looking for a shorter route to cycle home from work. Phone app sent him on motorway so thought it OK."

Another read: "Nice chap but unaware of the rules of the road, believed it OK to ride/walk on hard shoulder - struggled to see why not. Genuine mistake I'm sure but could have stopped at bottom of slip road! Most children know not to stray onto a motorway."

One person caught up in the delays was Hannah Leonard, who tweeted:: "My usual 40 minute commute to work took an hour and a half due to a cyclist on the M25!"

Most of those who went on to Twitter to comment had little sympathy with the cyclist, dubbing him "stupid" and "an idiot".