A COUNCILLOR criticised for referring to Velothon riders as “cycling Taliban” on Twitter has described his comments as “a bit of banter”.

Independent cllr Graham Down made the comments following the high-profile race, which saw 12,000 cyclists descend on Gwent on Sunday May 22.

After posing the question of how to rid Monmouthshire of “pesky cyclists,” cllr Down made his controversial "cycling Taliban" tweet in response to another users joke about throwing tacks on the road.

“I had a concern about the fact that the world is supposed to stand still for these cyclists,” he said.

“When I’ve been walking I’ve nearly been run over and on the roads cyclists in general don’t show a lot of consideration.

“As many of my councillors know I'm thick-skinned and I will happily enter debate with anyone. It was just a bit of banter, a bit of fun that some people took the wrong way.”

Cyclist Jason Smith challenged the Shirenewton and Mathern representative on Twitter, describing his comments as “irresponsible” and “ludicrous”.

He said: “What I find most confusing is that the county council as a body want to promote cycling and encourage cyclists to come to the area.

“But then you have one councillor who has just come out with these ridiculous tweets. It's not a very good PR job for Monmouthshire.”

Monmouthshire County Council’s chief executive Paul Matthews said the council intends to host more cycling events in the future.

“We’re the cycling capital of Wales and are proud to support cycling in our beautiful county,” he said.

Cabinet member for innovation, enterprise and leisure, Bob Greenland, added: “(Cllr Down’s) views are his own and I doubt that his inflammatory and inappropriate remarks are shared by others."

Cllr Down has stated that he has taken advice from the police following the Twitter backlash, as “some of their comments have been a bit close to the bone”.