Cambridge's foreign visitors and students get cycling rules

Language students and overseas visitors to Cambridge are being given cycle safety leaflets to help them understand traffic rules in the UK.

Cambridgeshire County Council is distributing them to tourist offices and language schools.

"Vital road safety messages" and traffic signs are explained in Spanish and French.

A police spokesman said they "routinely receive reports of anti-social cycling" as not everyone understood UK law.

The city has about 400,000 overseas tourists every year and has numerous language schools.

A county council spokesman said that after consulting with the Tourist Board and cycle hire companies, it was felt providing information in both French and Spanish would be most useful.

As well as traffic regulations, the guides include cycle routes around the city and other popular destinations including Ely.

Many of the foreign language students visiting Cambridge are unfamiliar with UK road markings and roundabouts, and are often seen cycling the wrong way round them in the face of oncoming traffic.

Ch Insp Chris Balmer, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "Cambridge is such a cycling city, that many people who visit here choose to cycle when perhaps they have not done so for a long time, or have limited knowledge of the rules of the road.

"We would support any guide that assists cyclists to abide by the laws of the road, especially those who may not be familiar with UK rules and regulations."