Lime bike bans rider who put middle finger up after weaving around pedestrians

A brazen e-bike rider who put his middle finger up at a pedestrian after weaving on a pavement was tracked down and fined.

The rider was caught using CCTV and bike data after a pedestrian alerted the police to the pavement incident on Fleet Street in London.

The man, who has not been named, was slapped with a lifetime ban by Lime after he was traced and invited to a police station.

The incident unfolded on the central London street on July 31, when the cyclist, riding on the wrong side of the road, mounted the pavement to avoid an oncoming bus approaching him head-on.

Footage shows him weaving around pedestrians on the hot summer day.

He appears to ride within touching distance of people, including a woman he passes closely from behind.

The man then cuts in front of her and hops back onto the road, joining traffic in front of a van.

The woman reacts to the close pass before the cyclist appears to snap his head back away from the road in front of him and put his middle finger up at her in response.

The woman contacted the City of London Police and gave them the exact time and location for the encounter, which was caught on CCTV.

Officers contacted Lime, and the company identified the bike and eventually the rider.

At the police station, the rider accepted a £50 fine for careless cycling and apologised to the pedestrian for his behaviour, the force said.

Lime banned him from using its service, and Metro understands the prohibition applies worldwide.

What has Lime said?

Sergeant Stuart Ford, the cycling team lead for City of London Police, said: ‘The fact that we were able to identify this rider with the help of Lime demonstrates what can be achieved when we combine our extensive CCTV network with technology and information held by our partners.

‘Not every offence is serious, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.

‘We have to prioritise the greatest threats to the public, but people also expect us to act when they see behaviour that makes them feel unsafe. That’s an important part of maintaining confidence in policing.

‘This incident was relatively low-level, but for the pedestrian involved it was a real-world encounter in which she was forced to take evasive action and then subjected to an offensive gesture when she challenged the rider.’

Alice Pleasant, Lime’s UK deputy regional head for government relations, said the operator does not tolerate ‘behaviour that puts pedestrians or other road users at risk.’

She continued: ‘We take reports of unsafe riding seriously and enforce violations of our user agreement.

‘In this case, Lime followed established protocols when responding to an official request, in line with our privacy and other legal obligations.

‘We also took independent action to permanently ban the rider from using Lime. We will continue to support the police in keeping London’s streets safe.’

City of London Police is known for its proactive measures targeting careless and anti-social cycling, including jumping red lights.

Between April 2025 and March 2026, the force’s cycle team issued 1,315 fixed penalty notices, compared to 643 the previous year.

On average, it issues 25 fines a week to cyclists jumping red lights in the Square Mile.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.