A hardline cycling campaigner has provoked a bitter row after publicly ‘shaming’ a disabled woman for the way she parked outside her own house.
Adrian Chapmanlaw, who has been described as ‘a cycling vigilante’ and likened to notorious fellow extremist ‘Cycling Mikey’, frequently films motorists on video on his bike rides who he says have driven too close to him or illegally blocked his path.
But his latest victim has said she was horrified to find pictures of her car and her home posted on his Facebook page – accusing her of parking illegally.
Ms Bale suffers from fibromyalgia, a chronic ‘hidden’ disability which can cause intense musculoskeletal pain and profound fatigue and has a blue badge.
Chapmanlaw, a local councillor in Dorset encountered Chelsie Bale’s Seat Arona car as he pedalled along a brand new bike lane in Poole, where they both live.
Sharing images of her home, he chided: ‘Cars belong on the road, not on the pavement/shared path/cycle lane. A blue badge does not excuse you from obstructing the highway (which includes pavements).’
Ms Bale is registered disabled and has a blue badge for her vehicle which entitles her to leave her car on double yellow lines for up to three hours.
But her street has recently undergone £17m of work that has seen a supersized cycle lane and an extra wide pavement installed outside her house.
Adrian Chapmanlaw, who has been described as ‘a cycling vigilante’ and likened to notorious fellow extremist ‘Cycling Mikey’, picked on a new victim recently – a disabled woman
While cycling along, Chapmanlaw took offence at the way Chelsie Bale’s Seat Arona car as he pedalled along a brand new bike lane in Poole, where they both live
Sharing images of her home, he chided: ‘Cars belong on the road, not on the pavement. A blue badge does not excuse you from obstructing the highway (which includes pavements).’
The new layout means the road has been narrowed leaving no space to pull over on the main carriageway without blocking it and causing traffic mayhem.
Ms Bale said on the day in question she suffered a severe flare up of her fibromyalgia which rapidly brings on severe pain that is so intense she can collapse without warning.
She said had to park her car as close to her home as possible to ensure she could get in the door and lie down to recover.
Ms Bale was unable to park on her drive as her partner’s work van was there and he was abroad at the time so it couldn’t be moved.
So she left it on the 10ft wide pavement, leaving enough room for pedestrians, pushchairs and anyone on a mobility scooter to get passed.
She had planned to rest and recover inside for about an hour before moving her car.
To her misfortune Mr Chapmanlaw came cycling along with his helmet-mounted camera on continuous record while she was immobile.
The Liberal Democrat councillor spotted her ‘offending’ car and later posted a still photo of it on his Dorset Safer Roads Facebook page.
After being alerted to the post, Ms Dale, 25, came forward and publicly explained her reasoning for having to leave her car on the pavement.
She posted:’As you can see from the photo, I have parked as close as absolutely possible to the driveway and there is enough pavement left to get a buggy past without going on the cycle path.
‘If you were to knock on the door and ask about the car, I’d more than happily explain/have a conversation about it.’
This didn’t hold water with Mr Chapmanlaw, an elected member of BCP Council, who ‘shot her down’, she says..
Chapmanlaw has been described as ‘snide, aggressive and vindictive’ for the way he targets cyclists near his home in Dorset
Chapmanlaw sends his videos to Dorset Police’s Operation Snap which encourages people to submit footage of potential traffic offences so they can prosecute guilty motorists
Instead he responded: ‘You are far from the only one. I would hope that in future Chelsie parks her car on the drive so it’s always within easy reach.’
He went on to suggest that motorists who park on pavements should be vilified for blocking them as it might make them ‘rethink their choices’.
He also stated that motorists who park on pavements were ‘taking the f***ing p**s’.
Despite stating that he was ‘not having a go’ at Ms Dale and had treated her with respect, his post encouraged a pile-on from some of his supporters.
People commented under his post condemning Ms Dale calling her ignorant and inconsiderate and accused her of making up her own road laws.
Ms Dale, a buyer for an electronic engineering company, criticised Mr Chapmanlaw for allowing the ‘nasty and unkind’ pile-on against her.
She said: ‘I parked right outside my house because my health wasn’t great and I wasn’t confident I would be able to walk across the road and not collapse.
‘I usually park down a side road and I very rarely park outside. When I’ve done it before I have left my car on the road on double yellow lines with plenty of space for cars to pass.
‘But the pavement has been widened and now the main road is a lot narrower than it was. If I had left my car on the yellow lines it would have caused carnage.
‘I made sure there was absolutely enough space for people to get past my car on the pavement, there was about a metre gap.
‘After I had recovered I saw a friend sent me his post.
‘I commented that it was my car and I realise I shouldn’t have parked there but I have a blue badge and parking on the road wasn’t an option and I had to park as close to my house as I could foe health reasons.
‘It spiralled from there and I was shot down.
‘Comments people left were quite nasty and unkind to me, with people saying that I was a scrounger yet he allowed it to happen and let people carry chastising me.
‘I didn’t know he was a local councillor at the time but now that I know I would expect a local councillor to be a bit more considerate for people in their community.
‘He could have sympathised with me and asked what he could do to help improve the situation.’
In one of her replies, Ms Bale told Mr Chapmanlaw: ‘I also do think it’s uncalled for as you have no idea of the personal situations of people as you don’t ask. I’ve not left my house in days, you could’ve very easily knocked on my door and asked about it, get to know the people in your local area.
He recently got into an altercartion with an Iceland delivery driver and the two had a heated discussion over whether or not there is a bike lane on the road in Poole
‘I was considerate in my parking, I was open and honest in the fact it was my car and that it was a one off occurrence.
‘I strongly recommend you also read the comments that people have written about me regarding my health and my partner.
;I did not comment on this post to be slated or slandered for doing something that helped me, all I did was just explain hoping that it would make others understand and maybe have some compassion.’
He replied by posting: ‘I have been nothing but respectful here and understanding of the issue, you tried your best to make the best of a bad situation despite the fact what you did is still illegal.’
Ms Bale received messages of support from some.
One such response was: ‘Feel for you being vilified on the internet on this one occasion when you’ve tried your best despite your disability and actually I’m sure the cycle path is quiet. It is possible to safely go around your car without going on the road. ‘
The new cycle lanes along Ringwood Road are part of a £120million project to lay almost 50 miles of new cycles lanes in south east Dorset.
The ‘Transforming Travel’ programme in residential areas of Bournemouth, Poole, Ferndown and Wimborne, is aimed at encouraging more people to cycle and scoot to places.
But critics claim it is part of BCP Council’s ‘war on motorists’ in the area and claims officials have pledged to reduce local car journeys by 50 per cent.
They say that trees and grass verges have been ripped up and paved over and that the new cycle lanes are barely used.
Mr Chapmanlaw and the council were approached.
