A number of near misses involving pedestrians and cyclists in Ipswich town centre has prompted calls for riders to get off their bikes.

Police in Ipswich made the appeal this week in a bid to prevent potential accidents.

“Can anyone cycling through Ipswich Town Centre please either stop and push their cycles or at least slow down and give way to pedestrians?” the force tweeted. “There have been of late some near misses which in the first instance could be prevented.”

Last month the Government announced plans for new legislation, which would see cyclists who cause a pedestrian’s death in a collision treated in the same way as motorists who cause death by dangerous driving.

The laws were proposed after 44-year-old mother-of-two Kim Briggs was knocked over and killed by a bicycle courier in February 2016.

Last year, police in Berkshire launched a crackdown on people cycling in a pedestrianised zone in Windsor, following an collision in which a four-year-old boy broke his arm.

The cyclist was jailed for 27 weeks for causing the collision. Following the incident, Thames Valley Police’s Windsor Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team said it would fining people who ignore ‘no cycling’ signs £50.

Do you think a similar scheme should be launched in Ipswich town centre?

Email our newsroom or comment below if you’ve been involved in a near miss.