Police picked on the wrong person when they tried to fine a county councillor for cycling in Oxford's Bonn Square.

An officer stopped Sushila Dhall and partner Patrick Lingwood, chairman of Cyclox, a city cycling group, and told them they were contravening traffic regulations banning cycling in the area between 9am and 6pm.

But Cllr Dhall and Mr Lingwood protested because their detailed knowledge of the rules meant they knew they had done nothing wrong.

Now police chiefs have apologised for the mistake.

Mr Lingwood said: "As far as I am aware you are allowed to cycle in Bonn Square during the day. Queen Street is where cycling is forbidden and I think police got the two areas confused."

Oxford police Insp Peter Shepherd confirmed one of his officers made a mistake last week.

He said: "It appears that a fixed penalty ticket has been issued at a venue which, by only a few yards, is not covered by the city's by-laws. I would like to apologise to the two cyclists and can assure them that if they get in touch their tickets will be cancelled.

"In our defence, cycling signs are not obvious and perhaps it is the right time for the city council to improve them so both police and cyclists know where they stand."

Nigel Coates, city council cycling officer, said a traffic regulation order allows cyclists to ride their bikes in Bonn Square between 9am and 6pm.

He said: "The prohibition in the day applies to Queen Street."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.