A cyclist is too terrified to take his child out on a bike because he says the roads are too dangerous.

Louis Francis, of Bovingdon, has been cycling for five years - but refuses to take his 11-month-old out in a trailer with his bike.

The 32-year-old club secretary for Watford Velo Sport said: “It’s terrifying, the roads are so scary.

“Drivers seem to get offended that you may be holding them up and they will speed past you and try to push you off.

“I have had too many close calls on the road. I refuse to take my child out.”

Mr Francis says the quality of Watford's roads can make it more dangerous for cyclists.

Cyclists may have to veer into the way of a car when avoiding potholes.

This makes riding a bike in Watford a daunting experience.

Even his wife is too afraid to get on a bike in Watford.

A cyclist may even get injured when riding over a pothole - the bike may throw the rider when it clips the road.

Mr Francis's handlebars once "snapped" when he went over a deep pothole that left him falling off his bike.

He says the attitude to cyclists is also a problem such as a lack of patience due to the care a cyclist has to take on the road.

Mr Francis recounted how two of his friends in the club went on a 100-mile cycling trip to Northampton.

They experienced no trouble until they got within ten minutes from their home in Watford.

The cyclists got into an argument with a driver of a Land Rover who accused them of being too slow.

The driver then overtook them, got out and pushed one of them over.

He claims drivers will occasionally drive too close to a cyclist at high speed and on purpose.

Members of Watford Velo Sport call this, a ‘punishment pass’.

Mr Francis has experienced one such ‘punishment pass.’

Earlier this year, Mr Francis was riding along Hampstead Road in Watford, when a van passed so close to him that he felt the vehicle brush against his leg.

He said: “I was so angry when I came home, I have a baby and a wife and they could have killed me.

“It’s terrifying enough to have a car pass within 30 to 40 centimetres from you.

“I wanted to give up cycling then, but I thought that these punishment passes were just to get you off the road and I would be letting them win.

“Most cyclists are also motorists so we know what it can be like driving, but when you are on a bike you are the most vulnerable person out there.”