Cycling groups in Oxfordshire are opposing new legislation which would force riders under 16 to wear helmets.

Ed Lehmann is against plans to make wearing cycle helmets compulsory

But Thames Valley Police officers and county council road safety officers are backing the bill, which could lead to parents being fined £200 if their children fail to wear the head protection.

The Enforcement of the Protective Headgear for Young Cyclists Bill gets its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday, April 23.

Ed Lehmann, 56, the Cyclists Touring Club's Right to Ride spokesman for the Vale and South Oxfordshire, wears a bike helmet, but was not in favour of the proposal.

He believed a helmet may have aggravated the injuries suffered by his elderly father, who broke his neck while learning to ride again in his back garden.

Mr Lehmann, of Cottage Road, Stanford in the Vale, said: "The accident showed me that wearing a helmet can cause the head to rotate in a crash, which can have harmful effects.

"My father was paralysed and never really recovered."

The British Medical Association recommends all cyclists wear helmets but is not in favour of the bill. However, Oxfordshire County Council's road safety department said it wanted the law changed to reduce casualties.

In 2003, there were 30 serious injury accidents involving cyclists in the county and 276 slight injury accidents.

Of that total, seven cyclists wearing helmets were seriously injured and 60 slightly injured.

Ian Harris, the council's principal road safety officer, said: "We spoke to consultants at the John Radcliffe Hospital who told us that helmets reduced the severity of head injuries."

He said a survey of 15-year-old cyclists showed that "a substantial number" hoped wearing a helmet would become compulsory so they did not look like 'sissies' for wearing them voluntarily.

Insp Martin Elliott, chairman of the Thames Valley Police Federation, added: "I never go out without my helmet."

The bill has Government support, making it likely to become law.