Cyclists could suffer "catastrophic injury" by being impaled on railings outside a York church, a report has warned.

St Oswald’s Church in Main Street, Fulford, has a stone boundary wall next to a shared cycle and pedestrian path.

The wall holds iron railings which have spikes at around 40 centimetres and 72 centimetres above the pavement, planning documents say.

York Press: A cyclist passing the wall of St Oswald's ChurchA cyclist passing the wall of St Oswald's Church (Image: Kevin Glenton)

The documents add that both the front wall and railings are considered to be in very poor condition.

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The documents say: "After a complaint from a member of the public about the spikes, the church took advice from a health and safety expert (Eurosafe UK).

"The advice received was that the spikes, due to their low height, pose a risk to the adjoining busy cycleway along Main Street.

"The risk arises if cyclists were to fall off their bikes onto the railings and impale themselves."

York Press: A shared cycle and pedestrian path runs alongside the boundary wall of St Oswald's ChurchA shared cycle and pedestrian path runs alongside the boundary wall of St Oswald's Church (Image: Kevin Glenton)

A planning application was made in 2018 to address the public safety concern caused by the railings and proposed "removing the top spikes and truncating and rounding-off the lower spikes."

Planning documents said: "The council refused planning permission in December 2018 because ‘altering the original design element, would result in harm to the aesthetic value of the railings and the loss of their historic value’."

Richard Dobson, director at Eurosafe UK, in Clifton Moor, said in January 2019 : “The raised risk of cyclists being sat at a higher elevation and the potential for a cyclist being hit and/or falling from the bike onto the railings should lead to consideration for removal of spikes.”

St Oswald's latest application outlines plans to modify the spikes by repairing and repainting the railings, and welding iron balls onto the tips.

The wall would be rebuilt.

The planning documents said: "The proposed works would have major public benefits by removing the risk of catastrophic injury to passing cyclists and the works overall would improve the appearance of the listed Victorian church and the conservation area."

Detail of the planning application can be read here.