A WINTER crackdown on cyclists riding without lights in Oxford starts tomorrow now that the clocks have gone back an hour.

The campaign is being launched on Monday between 6.30pm and 9.30pm in High Street, with police and the county council's road safety team.

Cyclists who are caught will be given £30 fixed penalty fines. But they will get it back if they buy lights and produce a receipt for them within seven days of receiving the fine.

The deal will only last till the end of November, even though checks will continue throughout the winter months.

PC Mark Pilling, from the Abingdon Road Policing Unit, said: "This approach is intended to improave road safety for cyclists on roads throughout the city.

"As the nights draw in, even in well-lit streets anyone cycling without lights at night is vulnerable and dangerous to pedestrians.

"At this time of year there are many students arriving in the city. Understandably, some choose to buy a bike, but in order to save themselves a few pounds they fail to buy lights for it."