Photos show large crowd of High Peak cyclists defying social distancing rules

The pictures - taken on Sunday - show between 11 and 12 cyclists riding together as a group.

Police have slammed the riders’ actions as ‘unacceptable’.

They were taken by a concerned member of the public who said residents were ‘fuming’ at the total disregard for public safety.

The onlooker, who preferred not to be named, described the scenes as ‘unbelievable’.

He said: “I think these guys were taking the Mick - if you were walking your dog from the opposite direction it would be difficult to get out of their way.

“There would be nowhere to pass them if you were an elderly or vulnerable person.”

It is not yet known where the riders came from however it is understood they were sported at Etherow Country Park near Marple earlier in the day.

The group’s shocking behaviour was reported to police - however it seems officers have not caught up with them yet.

In a message one officer wrote to a member of the public: “I'm shocked to see these pictures - this is not acceptable.

“The minority are ruining this for the majority. I hope someone reported this to us on the phone so we were able to dispatch officers.”

The officer asked that anyone who witnesses anything similar call police and report it immediately.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor