Police in Brighton have launched a blitz on cyclists who ride on pavements, through red traffic lights and the wrong way along one-way streets.

Law-breakers will be given warning leaflets informing them of their offences and any repeat offenders or all those caught from March 1 will face £30 on-the-spot fines or summonses to court.

One of the main problem areas is St James's Street, where Bill Pelling was clipped by a cyclist as he crossed the road.

The cyclist was going the wrong way down the one-way street.

Shaken Mr Pelling, 53, of Queen's Park in Brighton, was shaken and uninjured but he was stunned by the attitude of the cyclist.

He said: "I got a mouthful of abuse even though he was the one in the wrong."

Mr Pelling reported the incident to police. He added: "Almost every day I see cyclists doing something illegal.

"They have to realise they are road users, not pedestrians, and they have to abide by the Highway Code.

"When I was young, if I had just a reflector missing from my bike I'd get a rocket from the police."

PC Richard Hamlin, community beat officer for the area, is leading the crackdown.

He said police were constantly receiving complaints about wayward cyclists.

He said: "The most common complaints are riding without lights at night, on the pavement, jumping red traffic lights or cycling the wrong way down a one-way street."

"I fully understand cycles cut the use of vehicles and reduce pollution.

"I realise this does not rank as a high priority for the police service but we are concerned someone might get seriously hurt.

"But our job includes preventing injury. Serious injuries have happened elsewhere in Sussex.

"We have a Safer Streets campaign and if this crackdown is successful then that is what we will have. And we will have kept someone out of hospital as a result."