A cyclist riding a mountain bike trail in Wales has told of how he discovered a plank of wood, hidden beneath soil, that had more than 100 nails embedded in it.
Chris Williams, from Blaenavon, discovered the booby trap while out for a ride with friends, reports the South Wales Argus.
The cyclist, who was at the front of the group, told the newspaper: “It’s disgusting. We can’t believe it.
“Imagine if you were walking your dog through there or walking with your children.
“There was well over 100 nails in the piece of wood,” he continued. “I wouldn’t like to think what it would do to you if you fell on to it. It looks like something out of a horror film.
“We have been using the path for years and on Monday night I was out in front. As I got close to it, I saw something in the ground. I thought maybe it was a 10p piece.
“I’m a builder myself, and it looks like the nails were put in with a nail gun. There are no hammer marks on the back of it.
“I hid it in a hedge because we were on our bikes, and we weren’t able to take it with us, but I’m going up there again today (Tuesday) to find it and take it to a police station.
“It’s so dangerous,” he added.
The woodland is managed by Natural Resources Wales, whose land management team leader said: “People use our forests as a great way to enjoy our environment and get healthy in the outdoors, but people need to be safe while doing so.
“Sabotaging paths in woodlands is incredibly dangerous and puts people and animals at risk.
“If anyone sees evidence of dangerous activity or items in the forest we manage, please report it to us on 03000 653000.
“We have not had any reports of sabotage in this area, but we will look into the matter.”
We’ve reported on a number of booby traps targeting both road cyclists and mountain bikers here on road.cc over the past decade or so – most recently in a story published at the weekend regarding several incidents near Sheffield and in the Peak District.
Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds with his miniature schnauzer, Elodie. He fell in love with cycling one Saturday morning in 1994 while living in Italy when Milan-San Remo went past his front door. A daily cycle commuter in London back before riding to work started to boom, he's been news editor at road.cc since 2009. Handily for work, he speaks French and Italian. He doesn't get to ride his Colnago as often as he'd like, and freely admits he's much more adept at cooking than fettling with bikes.