On Sat, 06 Jun 2015 09:23:57 +0100
Adia wrote:

It could be that quite a few cyclists are still of the opinion that
they may ride on the footway provided they do so considerately,

The only way they can be sure of doing that is to ride at walking pace
and stop whenever there is any chance that they might inconvenience a
pedestrian. They might as well get off and push, at least they'd be
legal then (although they'll take up more space on the pavement than if
they were astride the bike).

and
feel that in such circumstances police officers should exercise their
discretion. I don't think they appreciate how serious an issue this
can become, especially if they are involved in an accident with a
pedestrian.

Indeed. I suggest that slow careful pavement riding might be
acceptable at the start or end of a journey, or as an alternative where
the road route is too cycle-unfriendly, but for normal use it's a
non-starter as it's just too slow and hazardous compared to using the
road.