Police appeal for information after tacks cause hundreds of punctures in Scottish sportive

Police in Scotland are carrying out investigations after tacks left in the road caused hundreds of punctures at a closed road charity sportive.

Tacks were found in the road at two points in the Pedal for Scotland route, which saw more than 8,000 riders cover between 70km and 150km from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

Shona Mitchell was one of those to be hit with a puncture, writing on Twitter that hundreds of other riders had been affected by similar problems.

Other riders also reported how mechanics at the event "couldn't keep up" with the number of punctures that they were having to fix, with some riders having to abandon their ride with just 10 miles remaining.

Police Scotland said that they were investigating reports of tacks being placed in the road at Whitecross and Linithglow, Falkirk.

"The matter was reported to police around 1.10pm on Sunday, September 10, on Station Road. A number of bikes were damaged, however no cyclists were injured," a statement read.

"Inquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 2396 of September 10."

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Cycling Scotland, which organises the event, said that not only had the tacks being placed in the road caused problems for participants, but had also meant that the roads had to remain closed for longer than planned.

"We regret that the action of an idiotic individual or group of people has caused problems for event participants and risked serious injury to people," a spokesperson said.

"It has also slowed us down in opening the roads again. The operational team helped remove the tacks as soon as they were reported.

"We would ask anyone with information about who committed this crime to report it to Police Scotland."