A TEEN pulls a wheelie as he passes a police car, crosses a roundabout and runs a red light in Swindon town centre.

Video shows at least four of the bike riding youths as they make their way down Fleming Way, passing Jury’s Inn, crossing the Spring Gardens roundabout and pedalling past Halfords.

One of the youngsters, riding on his back wheel, narrowly misses a pedestrian trying to get across the road at a Pelican crossing.

The footage was uploaded to social media site Instagram by one Swindon youngster. It was shared with the hashtags #bikesupknivesdown and #knivesdownbikesup.

That tag refers to a global movement of young cyclists, determined to tackle the perception of youths as knife-waving hooligans. Young riders have previously staged mass rides through central London.

Last year, the Adver spoke to members of group Swindon Bikes as around 40 cyclists met in the County Ground car park ahead of one ride through the town.

The organiser, then 15, said of the group: “It’s to bring people together and to encourage kids to pick up bikes instead of knives, and stop them from becoming involved in violence.

“It gives them something to do. If they come from a rough background it gives them something to do. This is like family.”

He added: “People don’t need to worry. We’re not trying to cause issues. People get it twisted. They think we’re out to cause problems.”

However, anti-social cyclists have been the subject of criticism over the past year. One group was blasted by motorists after footage came to light of a large group running red lights along Faringdon Road, pulling wheelies and dodging between cars.

Reacting to the latest footage, Insp Al Lumley said: “The manner of cycling seen in this video is really quite concerning and quite frankly, reckless. 

“These youngsters are showing absolutely no regard for other road users, or pedestrians. In fact, the video clearly shows a very near miss with a pedestrian at a crossing – it is fortunate that nobody was injured as a result of the behaviour of these individuals. 

“While the message that these youngsters are promoting regarding picking up bikes instead of knives is something we would support, we do not approve of this anti-social use of bikes on our busy roads, and we would urge them to consider the consequences of their actions carefully.

“We will conduct enquiries to identify those involved so we can discuss how they can safely promote their message without putting their lives, and the lives of others, at risk."