CYCLISTS have been caught riding on North Yorkshire's pavements more than 100 times in two years, new figures show.

A Freedom of Information request submitted to North Yorkshire Police revealed 104 people have broken the law by riding on pedestrian-only spaces since January 2013.

In March 2013 alone, 27 riders were caught by officers, who can issue a fixed penalty notice to those they catch.

Sixty five cyclists were caught in 2013, 33 in 2014 and six in the first four months of this year.

Meanwhile, 62 cyclists were caught without lights on their bikes over the same period of time.

John Clayton, a manager at York's Bike Rescue Project, in Walmgate, said: "Road safety is paramount to any user whether it's a pedestrian or cyclist and we would promote the fact that safe cycling is required at all times and cyclist should always be courteous to pedestrians.

"When the winter hours draw in cyclists are faced with a different type of cycling at night.

"We bring in night riding courses with people in the winter because you don't tend to see what's happening around you when it's dark.

"If it's pitch black or raining you're vision is going to be limited, so hopefully as a project we can do something."

Andy Shrimpton, a partner at Cycle Heaven, in Bishopthorpe Road, said: "I'm opposed to discourteous behaviour on our roads regardless of what vehicle you're in.

"I believe people behave badly on the roads. Sometimes riding on the pavement is the safest thing to do for all concerned and if I am riding on a pavement next to an A-road then that's probably safer."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police, said: "Year-on-year figures show that there has been a reduction in offences of cycling on the pavement since 2013. However, despite this reduction the safety of the public is a priority and we will continue to target cyclists who don’t ride within the law.

"Recently we have run initiatives to educate the public about the dangers of cycling without lights, including a joint operation with City of York Council where we gave out free lights to people during the dark winter nights."