Chrissie Morgan.A CYCLIST who has battled back from breast cancer to train for a charity bike ride is urging all road users to take more care, after she had several near-misses on Salisbury's dangerous roads.

Chrissie Morgan regularly cycles through the city centre as she prepares for a fundraising ride in aid of breast cancer awareness charities.

However, she says the lack of consideration shown to cyclists by some pedestrians and motorists can make riding her bike a misery.

"I want to cycle because it's good for the environment and helps me get my fitness back," said Miss Morgan. "But every time I go out, something seems to happen.

"I've had people opening car doors into me, pedestrians just step off the pavement in front of me so I have to swerve to avoid them and vehicles almost knock me off.

"It's very hard not to be put off cycling altogether."

Miss Morgan, of Greyfriars Close, said that, while many people were considerate to cyclists and the cycle path network was good in places, more should be done to encourage safe cycling through the city centre.

"If people could just take a little more time to think, it would be a great help," she said. "There should also be more cycle paths.

"I'm not going to let all these accidents or near-misses put me off my training but I think if Salisbury was more friendly towards cyclists, we'd see a lot more people using bikes."

Howard Piner, of Cycling Opportunities Groups for Salisbury, said the city had many good cycle routes that needed to be linked up and better signposted to encourage safer cycling.

"A lot of work has been done but there is some way to go until we have a fully linked up cycle network," he said.

"In the meantime, cyclists will have to use some of the main roads. This means everyone, including cyclists, has a responsibility to make sure the roads are as safe as possible for all who use them."