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Cycling treasure hunt in Norwich cancelled due to bogus police call

Person posing as officer said event was road race and couldn't take place, police say no such call made...

February’s edition of a cycling treasure hunt that has been regularly held in Norwich since being established in 2010 has been cancelled following a bogus call from someone claiming to be a police officer.

Norwich AlleyCats, organisers of the event, were told by the caller that it was considered a road race and as a result it was against the law, reports Eveningnews24.co.uk.

However, a traffic management officer for Norfolk Constabulary told the news outlet that no such call had been made by police.

The officer said: “Norfolk Constabulary has no power to prohibit an event unless it causes obstruction to the free flow of traffic.”

Organisers have been advised to contact police for advice regarding similar events in the future, but the one scheduled for 1 February has already been cancelled.

Gareth Lewis, one of the organisers, commented: “The treasure hunt is a social activity where participants plan their own routes on public highways; it has never been a race.”

Despite the name of the group that organises the event being Norwich Alleycats, the treasure hunt has little in common with the type of flat-out alleycat racing in places such as New York City as filmed by Lucas Brunelle.

Mr Lewis has blogged about organising Norwich AlleyCats on the website Instructables.com, where he says its “casual, social approach is proving very popular with cyclists from all walks of life, and all age groups.

“I am very proud of the fact that entrants into the Norwich AlleyCats have ranged from 16-67 years of age, even a couple in their mid 20s riding a tandem and towing a toddler behind them in a child carrying trailer, and a young disabled lady undertaking the route and tasks in her electric assist wheelchair,” he continues.

“Entrants have turned up on Fixies, Single Speeds, MTBs, Shoppers, Dutch, Hybrids, Commuters, Folders, Roadies, Tricross, Tandems, Recumbents, Tadpole Trikes, and even the world famous Bicycle designer Mike Burrows on one of his small wheeled mono fork racing bikes,” he adds.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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oozaveared | 9 years ago
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Well hats off top people that do go an organise events. But I would have thought that part of the task was to know the law and local agreements in place for staging what is an annual event.

If it was legal last year then it's probably legal this year. And the police are ghoing to write to you in advance or turn up in person if you ignore them not make a quick call.

So I am surprised the organisers didn't know themselves what the legal situation of their event was and were therefore taken in by a mere phone call. You are allowed to ask the police to clarify their position on these things you know. They're not the Stasi, they don't lock you up for saying "hang on a minute, what's changed, who are you, why didn't you write beforehand and can I call you back on a police station number."

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