FOOD delivery riders are being put at "danger" after the removal of a controversial cycle lane.

People working for companies such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats regularly travel on Old Shoreham Road in Hove.

Workers in the gig economy were among cyclists who used a bike lane until the council decided it should be removed.

On Monday, work began to remove the lane following months of council consultations which found it was unpopular.

Kane Manning, a 23-year-old Just Eat courier from Portslade, said: "It's so dangerous for us, it's not safe.

The Argus: A Just Eat driver has spoken out against the removal of the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane.

"Three attempts nearly got hit by car, very dangerous for us.

"We're all really angry about it, it makes it even more of a risk for us doing our jobs.

"It’s going to be dangerous, there be more accidents for sure. We use it all the time, we're very disappointed.

"There should be third lane for us, but no they make it two lanes for cars, they don’t think of us.

"It's a disgrace."

Councillors voted to scrap the cycle lane at the Environment, transport and sustainability urgency sub-committee in August, with it to be removed as quickly as possible.

The removal took place overnight between 8pm and 4am on Monday night and will continue for the next five days, ending in the early hours of Sunday, September 19. The work is expected to cost £30,000.

The cycle lane was one of a series of “active travel” schemes introduced across Brighton and Hove during the first national Covid-19 lockdown.

It was created in May last year, in place of a lane of other traffic on each side of the road. It joined the existing cycle lane between The Drive and Dyke Road.

Green councillor Amy Heley said that the decision to remove the cycle lane was “shameful”.

She said at the time: “I’m scared for the future. This is the tiniest thing we could have done, a step in the right direction, but they just don’t care. It’s very disappointing.”

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