Vigilante cyclist speaks out after collision with car caught on video
Cycling Mikey blocked a car from driving through a no-entry sign before being hit
A well-known cycling activist has claimed he could not stop his e-bike from being struck by a car driving through a no-entry sign in west London.
Michael van Erp, known for his Cycling Mikey YouTube channel, posted a video on Sunday showing his bike being hit.
On Tuesday, Mr van Erp wrote on the social media platform X that he "couldn’t… brake a 28kg e-bike once I realised the driver wasn’t stopping".
The 52-year-old activist’s video also shows him initially blocking the car from passing the no entry sign, installed at the junction due to roadworks.
After gesticulating with Mr van Erp, the male driver reverses and allows vehicles coming in the opposite direction to pass, before driving forward again.
The cyclist makes a second attempt to block him, but the motorist collides with his bike and drives off.
Mr van Erp’s belongings were scattered in the road, but it appears he escaped injured and his bike avoided serious damage.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of footage circulating on social media which appears to show an incident on Paddenswick Road, Hammersmith on Sunday August 10.
“No arrests have been made at this stage.
“We urge victims of crime to contact the police by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
Mr van Erp, who has more than 35,000 followers on his X account, regularly films drivers who he claims are breaking road rules, such as using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel.
He says since 2019 he has reported 2,280 drivers, who have received a total of £165,700 in fines and 2,649 penalty points.
He claims that 35 people have been disqualified from driving because of his actions.
In October 2022, theatrical agent Paul Lyon-Maris, then 60, was cleared of assault and dangerous driving after telling a jury at Southwark Crown Court Mr van Erp “jumped” on his car.
Mr Lyon-Maris – who has represented Oscar-winner Colin Firth and Lord Of The Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen – was said to have lost his temper when the cyclist tried to stop him driving on the wrong side of the road in the outer circle of Regent’s Park in central London.