TV chef James Martin 'sorry' for terrorising cyclists

The television presenter sparked fury after telling how he forced a group into a hedge while test-driving a sports car.

Writing in a newspaper column, he described the incident as the "best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror".

But last night Martin apologised and said the comments were "misjudged".

"May I take this opportunity to apologise for any offence I have caused through the article in last weekend's Mail on Sunday," he said in a statement published on his website.

"It was never my intention to offend the many cyclists who share our roads across the country. What was intended to be a humorous piece was clearly misjudged. Furthermore, I do not condone any form of reckless driving.

"Once again, I am sincerely sorry for any upset caused in relation to this article."

A national cycling group, which said it had been "inundated" with emails from members angry at the article, branded the comments as "offensive and dangerous".

Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins also hit out at Martin's remarks.

In his column, Martin revealed his "hate" for cyclists and questioned whether they visited quiet country lanes to "wind me up".

"God, I hate those cyclists," he said. "Every last herbal tea-drinking, Harriet Harman-voting one of them. That's one of the reasons I live in the countryside, where birds tweet, horses roam, pigs grunt and Lycra-clad buttocks are miles away."

During a test drive of the Tesla electric car, he told how he decided to take out his anger on a group cycling near his home.

He said they were dressed in "fluorescent Spider-Man outfits, shades, bum bags and stupid cleated shoes".

"Twenty minutes into my test drive I pulled round a leafy bend, enjoying the birdsong - and spotted those damned Spider-Man cyclists," he said.

"Knowing they wouldn't hear me coming, I stepped on the gas, waited until the split second before I overtook them, then gave them an almighty blast on the horn at the exact same time I passed them at speed.

"The look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge was the best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror."

Roger Geffen, campaigns and policy manager at CTC, the UK's national cyclists' organisation, said: "James Martin's comments and actions are both offensive and dangerous to cyclists.

"We urge the group of cyclists who James Martin attempted to run off the road to get in touch with CTC's Accident Helpline. Our legal team would be only too happy to take the matter further."

And Wiggins, a double gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, posted a series of messages on the social networking website Twitter expressing his anger at Martin's comments.

In one, he advised Martin to "stick" to cookery shows.