Camden Council has defended issuing legal threats against bicycle owners – even though it has no way of knowing who they are.
The notices were put up at the start of the month on bikes the authority believed had been abandoned.
Some of the bikes, chained to railings or lamp posts in West Hampstead, had cobwebs on them or were rusty.
The notices threatens the owners with court action and a £60 fine if they don’t remove them. However the council doesn’t know who they belong to.
The council said the action was in response to complaints from residents.
Camden’s environment chief Cllr Adam Harrison said: “We want to keep our pavements as accessible and uncluttered as possible. Locking bicycles to lampposts and railings can cause a real hazard to pedestrians.
“It is not unheard of for bike owners to contact us once it has been removed. The notice allows us to use the full range of legislation if there is a dispute about what should happen to the bike.”
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