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Thugs setting lethal traps
Mindless yobs are setting lethal traps at a Wigan beauty sport in bid to garrot local cyclists.
A "maniac" has been using a technique pioneered by World War Two special forces to deliberately injure mountain bikers using the borough's top tourist attraction.
High strength nylon fishing line has been found double-wound between trees at neck-height in the plantations at Haigh Hall.
Two traps were spotted by an outraged off road cyclist and safely removed before they could cause any injury.
Both were found across a path which, as cycle tyre track imprints show, are highly popular with the growing number of mountain bikers who leave the tarmac to get fit.
They were strung between trees near to the Great Haigh mine sough at the Whelley side of the plantations.
A 34-year-old keen mountain biker who discovered the potential nooses, believes that they have been deliberately set to target cyclists by somebody with a grudge.
He said: "It was a sunny day and the sunlight caught the line and I hit the brakes before it got me.
"But if it had been dull and I hadn't had my wits about me, with my head down, it would have hit me at neck height.
"I'm not saying it's going to chop your head off but it could easily bring you off the bike.
"And head butting a tree at 15 miles per hour, which on this downhill section is more than possible, could be fatal.
"This wasn't some random act of vandalism, it was quite deliberate because there were only four trees that could have been used at this point and the fishing line had been carefully positioned between them in a very calculating way by some vindictive maniac.
"It's certainly made me more cautious when I am out riding around Haigh Hall."
A spokesman for Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust said they had now launched an investigation following a call from the Wigan Evening Post and would be contacting GMP.
He added: "This act of stupidity could well have had dire consequences for the individual involved and we are glad they have not been harmed in anyway. Our rangers are now carrying out a full survey of the grounds but this is the first time we have been notified about such a matter and believe it is an isolated incident."
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Weather for Wigan
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
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